


Something's In The Air

by DynastyKit



Series: The Tenmar Collection [2]
Category: Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Additional Tags to Be Added, Adopted Children, Angst, Betrayal, Bisexual Character, Blood and Gore, Blood and Violence, Canon-Typical Violence, Characters to be added, Childhood Memories, Chorrol, Cussing, Cyrodiil, Dehydration, Delusions, Dreamscapes, Drug Abuse, Execution, F/F, F/M, Family, Flashbacks, Forbidden Love, Girl Power, Healers, Heartbreak, Heavy Themes, Human Trafficking, Illnesses, Implied Sexual Content, Imprisonment, Lesbians, Mental Breakdown, Mental Health Issues, Mind Manipulation, Multi, Nature, Nature Girl, Nature Magic, Non-Explicit Sex, Nudity, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Prisoner of War, Prostitution, Pseudo-Incest, Public Nudity, Sister-Sister Relationship, Sisterhood, Sisters, Starvation, Step-Sibling Incest, Step-siblings, Storytelling, Strong Female Characters, Telepathy, Torture, Trauma, Wolf Companion, coup, lots of characters, lots of flashbacks, spoilers in tags, spriggans
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-22
Updated: 2018-09-21
Packaged: 2019-01-21 03:13:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 21
Words: 65,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12448494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DynastyKit/pseuds/DynastyKit
Summary: As if the Empire was not in enough strife already, Cyrodiil and her people have fallen under attack once again. A mysterious ailment has begun to sweep across Cyrodiil, and a dysfunctional family of healers might be the Empire’s, and Tamriel’s, only hope for survival.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for checking out the first chapter of Something's In The Air! A little disclaimer for those who read the first part in this series, "A Frigid World," is that this fic will be considerably darker than "A Frigid World." This fic will eventually include mental illness, prostitution and human trafficking, discrimination, imprisonment and torture, substance abuse and addiction, and tons of other dark themes.
> 
> For those that haven't read "A Frigid World," I recommend that you read it all, but it isn't wholly necessary for this fic. I only strongly recommend that you go read Chapters 17 through 19, and Chapters 23 through 27, of "A Frigid World" to get a good grasp of the main character of this fic, Cassandra Marie. 
> 
> Two final notes, this first chapter is extremely short, and subsequent chapters will be much longer! Also, this fic does take place in 4E 201, it's only tagged as ESIV: Oblivion because much of it takes place in Cyrodiil.
> 
> Thanks again for reading, and make sure to leave a comment! I hope you enjoy this fic!

Cassandra shivered as she stood pressed against the fort wall. The freezing rain chilled her to the bone. Her injured left arm— wrapped in bandages and held in a sling due to being mangled in a Stormcloak ambush— stung as the icy rain soaked the bandages. She was already breathless, and the frigid, boggy air made it even harder to breathe. As much as she hated being out in the storm, it was her one chance to find Hildar. Hildar was her closest companion in Skyrim, and was captured in the Stormcloak ambush that also left her arm crippled. Cassandra and her small contingent— just two other Imperial soldiers —had already infiltrated the outer walls of Fort Dunstad. The Stormcloak guard was light tonight due to the storm, but that would mean the inside of the Fort would be much more populated and dangerous. Cassandra was willing to take that risk. All she needed was to get inside. 

The three Imperial soldiers slowly entered the prison of the fort. No guard was at the door, but Cassandra could hear hearty laughter down the hall. However, through the laughter, she also heard pained groans— Were they torturing Hildar? Cassandra wondered. In any case, Cassandra knew a fight was coming up. She turned to her two comrades and whispered, “Ready to fight?” They both nodded. “Good. You know the plan. Fire on the targets that you have the likeliest chance to kill in one shot. Let’s do this.” 

They snuck down a corridor leading to the voices, avoiding bone chimes that would have given away their position. They reached the end of the corridor, and saw a group of seven stormcloaks standing around a cell. They were cheering and laughing, and Cassandra could see that someone seemed to be fighting off skeevers in the cage. Cassandra lifted up her hand, heard her soldiers draw their bows, and then made her hand into a fist. This prompted her soldiers to fire their arrows, which hit and killed two of the Stormcloaks. 

This gained the attention of the other five, who quickly grabbed their weapons. Cassandra stood up and watched as the Stormcloaks approached her. “It’s now or never…” Cassandra told herself before taking a long inhale. Cassandra then exhaled hard, as if she was trying to blow fire out of her mouth at her enemies. However, nothing but air came out and it only served to confuse and stall the Stormcloaks for a moment. 

“Damn it…” Cassandra muttered in frustration, before unsheathing her sword. “Let’s do this the old fashioned way!” Cassandra and her soldiers charged at the Stormcloaks. The fighting was intense, but quick. Most of the Stormcloaks seemed to be drunk, and not a difficult fight. Soon, Cassandra and the Imperials slaughtered their Stormcloak foes.

Cassandra looked into the cell now, and saw Hildar sitting against the wall. His cage was filled with several dead skeevers, and he was covered in all kinds of cuts, bites, and bruises. “Hildar! You’re alive!” Cassandra exclaimed as she looked around for the key to the cell door.

“Barely… It took you long enough,” Hildar joked as he stood up and pointed across the room. “Key’s over there.” 

“Very funny. I spent the last four months trying to find you. This isn’t the first Stormcloak base I’ve broken into.” Cassandra grabbed the key and unlocked the cell door, freeing Hildar. “They had you fight skeevers?” Cassandra asked as she hugged Hildar tightly.

“Yeah. But they weren’t any problem,” Hildar said dismissively. 

“You reek of Ataxia, you know,” Cassandra joked as she began to heal his various wounds. 

“Nothing Skyrim's best healer can’t fix.” Hildar smiled as she tended to his wounds with her healing aura.

“Don’t think that flattery is going to be how you repay this debt to me,” Cassandra said as she finished healing him, and began to move towards the exit of the prison.

“What debt? You still owed me from whipping all of our soldiers into shape. I think this just makes us even.” Hildar chuckled. 

“Whatever. You’re just—” As Cassandra opened the doors to leave, she gasped suddenly as a group of Stormcloak archers awaited just outside of the door; all of their bows were pointed at the small group of Imperials.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just now realized that my italics don't translate over when I copy and paste this from another site. Cassandra's thoughts are supposed to be italicized... If anyone can help me with italicizing on this site, I'd really appreciate it!

“Gah!” Cassandra gasped as she was awoken by freezing cold water being splashed onto her. She opened her eyes as she was now soaking wet with icy water. She shivered and watched as one of her captors set down a now empty bucket. Cassandra’s functioning arm was chained above her as she hung against a wall, her mangled arm hung freely, and her legs were uncomfortably bent under her. She was completely naked and covered in bruises, as she was stripped and beaten after she surrendered the previous night. She felt each bruise, cut, and scrape burn painfully after she was drenched. 

“You look cold. Would you like a blanket?” The man in the room had a hood over his head, a strong Nord accent, and held a very warm-looking bear fur blanket. 

Cassandra did not respond. She tried to remember back nearly decade ago— when she was training to being an Imperial soldier— to the protocol for being captured. She regretted not paying much attention back then; all she remembered was that giving away important information was not an option. 

Cassandra’s thoughts disappeared as the man now held the blanket right in front of her face. She attempted to reach for the blanket, but her chains held her back. “You can have this blanket as soon as you tell us what you know about the Empire’s military in Skyrim.” The man threw the blanket on the floor in front of Cassandra teasingly. 

“I… Don’t know anything…” Cassandra struggled to speak as her teeth chattered violently. 

The Nord crossed his arms. “I see we’ll have to go through the standard interrogation schedule. That’s fine. Your companions are strong-willed, Nords, they will not tell anything and die with honor. But you, you are not a Nord. You don’t belong in Skyrim, halfling. You are weak like the elves. You will break,” the Nord spoke sternly before he left the room, taking the single torch in the room with him. 

Cassandra was left in total darkness, still freezing and nude. Her arm was already aching as it were suspended above her. Her throat was burning from thirst, and her stomach felt like it was eating itself. She wondered how long she could actually last like this. She also wondered if there was truly any chance of getting out alive, even if she spilled everything she knew about the Empire— and she knew a lot. Cassandra had been closely involved in every movement of the Imperial Army in Skyrim during her search for Hildar. She hoped that nothing could bring her to tell anything, even though the cold was already so painful. 

Cassandra shivered in the darkness for what seemed like a lifetime before the door slowly opened. She squinted as she looked up; the light was almost blinding as it filled the room. The same Nord from before entered the room, holding a bowl of something steaming. The scent was the most delightful scent Cassandra had ever smelled, but perhaps that had been because she had not eaten for about two days. The aroma was sweet and fruity. Cassandra tried not to get her hopes up, as she figured that she would surely not get to eat. 

“We’re gonna do a little trust exercise.” The Nord sat in front of Cassandra, so close that the steam from the bowl warmed her face. “You must be hungry. The exercise involves eating. Would you like to know the rules of the exercise?”

Cassandra sniffled, not answering. Her eyes and most of her attention were locked on the stew beneath her. 

The Nord gently placed two fingers on the underside of Cassandra’s chin and pressed her chin up, forcing her to make eye contact with him before he continued, “I ask you a question. You answer. You eat. Got it?” 

Cassandra was hungry. Her eyes watered as she nodded once. 

“Good. What is your name?”

“Ca—” She stopped herself quickly. I don’t need to tell the truth, she figured. “Caroline…”

“You know, it’s funny.” The Nord dipped a spoon into the bronze colored stew, and slowly pulled it out with the warm froth in it. “After watching people lie for many, many years.” The Nord slowly began to move the spoon to Cassandra, who eagerly opened her mouth. “You start to notice that we all lie the same. We all have the same tendencies.” To Cassandra’s horror, the Nord quickly pulled the spoon away from Cassandra and put it into his own mouth. She could already feel a tear slipping down her cheek as she watched him enjoy the stew. “Sometimes it’s subtle. A common action such as looking around or something,” the Nord now spoke with his mouth full. “Other times, it’s much more obvious, like your pause.” The Nord licked his lips. “Let’s try again. What is your name?”

“Camille…” Cassandra lied again, but this time more quickly and loudly. 

“They really don’t teach you Imperials anything about lying, do they? I thought you were supposed to have silver tongues?” the Nord chuckled this time as he ate another spoonful of stew. Cassandra’s heart sank as he watched him eat again. “But you aren’t even a true Imperial. You’re an elf in a woman’s body,” his voice began to get almost angry, “Even then, I would expect you to be much more cunning and deceitful.” 

Cassandra’s eyes turned from the food to the Nord’s eyes as he began to sound outraged about her Breton blood. She thought that she could maybe reach this Nord somehow, through his emotions. “You have so much hate in your heart…” she spoke with a raspy voice. Her dry throat pained her. 

“What?” The Nord squinted his eyes at her.

“You’re so hurt… You hate me, because of my elf ancestry… Why?” Cassandra tried to clear her throat, but it only caused her more pain. 

The Nord appeared more angry now, and his voice showed it as he raised it and said, “You wanna know why I hate Elves!? They took my wife!” The Nord suddenly slammed the stew onto the floor, spilling some of the contents. Like the blanket before, it seemed as if he was going to leave it there to tease Cassandra. 

The Nord stood up and began to stomp out before Cassandra spoke up, “The High Elves took my family, too…” 

The Nord stopped at the door and looked back at Cassandra, shouting, “Then why would you fight for the Imperials!? That help the Thalmor!?”

“The Empire doesn’t want to help the Thalmor… They just needed to stop the killing, so more like my family and your wife don’t die…”

“And then the Empire comes in Skyrim and threatens our way of life,” the Nord seemed to calm somewhat as he spoke.

“It’s for the better. For the Empire and Skyrim…” Cassandra coughed again.

“We could argue the justifications for our sides for hours. If this could be settled by words, there would be no war.” The Nord placed his torch on the wall, keeping the room lit, and left.

Cassandra figured that he kept the room lit so that she could longingly stare at the meal right in front of her. She thought she was getting to him, but perhaps that was not the case. She sighed and looked away from the food, but she could not escape the smell. It made her stomach groan and gurgle. She tried to stare at the fire and focus on it. She was glad for the light it gave, and the illusion that it warmed her helped a little bit with the cold. 

It was not long before the Nord returned, now holding a small cup. Cassandra already knew that the cup would be filled with water, and that this would be the next torture method. The Nord stepped over to her, and set the cup down on the floor in front of Cassandra. “When you are ready for water, I’ll be ready to ask questions. Just call out,” the Nord spoke quickly, saw that Cassandra would give no response, and then left. 

If there was anything worse than the cold and hunger, it was how thirsty Cassandra was. She stared at the small cup of water; the inside of her throat felt like it had been shredded by a mountain lion’s claws. She knew she needed to drink soon. She had no idea how long she could resist giving information. Her drive to survive was much stronger than her loyalty to the Empire. However, Cassandra knew there was one alternative way to possibly get to her food and water. She was hesitant to try it because if she succeeded, her captors would surely stop giving her the opportunity for food and water. Perhaps, she could just have one sip and one bite— just something to hold her over.

The allure of getting some sustenance was too much, and Cassandra knew she had to try her method. During the months Cassandra searched for Hildar, she had been practicing ways to make up for her injured arm. One of those ways was to attempt to use telekinesis to use her arm. She learned the basics of telekinesis from one of the master wizards while working in the Imperial City many years ago. However, it was a very difficult spell to cast for her and very painful when used on her injured arm. Conveniently enough though, Cassandra had been practicing lifting small items with her injured arm using telekinesis, such as cups, spoons, and other cutlery. 

She took a deep breath, trying to prepare herself for the ensuing pain. It’s for the water, she thought, you need the water. Cassandra focused on her arm, and groaned through her teeth as it began to move slowly. She bit her lip to stop herself from crying out as she dragged the bandaged arm across the ground and to the cup. The easy part was done; next came the hard part. Cassandra always struggled with gripping objects, and usually they would fall to the ground soon after she lifted them. She knew she could not have that happen this time. Cassandra focused hard again, bit her lip, and slowly gripped the cup. She lifted the cup gingerly, slowly inching it closer to her mouth. She was biting her lip so hard now that she could taste her own irony blood. Eventually, she brought the cup to her mouth and tipped the water in. Cassandra downed half the cup in an instant; it was the best water she had ever drank. However, Cassandra realized that she could not finish the cup and hastily pulled it away from herself, spilling some water in the process. She managed to set the cup close enough to its original placement with little issue. Cassandra panted lightly. She wanted more water, but that small piece of salvation would have to do for now. 

Cassandra looked at the stew now. She wished she had gone for the stew before the water, but it did not matter much to her. She was hungry, and needed to eat— at least just one bite. However, she was worried about the spoon and how she would avoid spilling any stew. She needed to try, though. She moved her hand to the bowl of stew, and gripped the spoon. Her hand wobbled as she held the spoon. She could feel her magicka waning, but she needed this spoonful. She slowly, and very gently, lifted the spoon to her mouth. She put the spoon in her mouth, and released her arm from the telekinesis so she could wholly enjoy her tiny meal. Cassandra could not help but let out a moan as the warm, delicious stew filled her mouth and throat, and momentarily warmed her. It was sweet and savory; some kind of apple and meat stew? she wondered. Eventually, Cassandra returned the spoon to the stew.

Her mood was much better now. She believed that she could actually survive. She knew that the Imperial Army had this Fort in their sights, and would attack it eventually. All Cassandra had to do was hold out until then. She just hoped that the Stormcloaks would continue to try to torture her with water and food.


	3. Chapter 3

The next week went by without anything new happening. Cassandra was not exactly sure of how many days had passed, as she only had when she slept to guess that a new night had passed. Cassandra was not subject to any new torture methods, and the Stormcloaks seemed to be none the wiser to her eating and drinking tricks. Her captors would not even remove the uneaten food or water from the room, instead letting it rot and pile up. She had even began to get used to the cold, and her suspended arm was now in a perpetual state of numbness. The worst part about the experience was now the smell and filth. While she did not need to relieve herself as much as she usually would due to the lack of food and water she consumed, she still had to sometimes. As such, her captors would not let her free to relieve herself, and she was forced to urinate and defecate herself. While the act was embarrassing and sickening to her, she appreciated the warmth it gave her legs— as repulsive as it may be. 

Despite consuming some food now and then, Cassandra could tell the malnourishment was affecting her body. While she had always been a lithe female, she had noticed that she was getting much thinner when she glanced down at her nude body. Her breasts seemed to be smaller, and her ribs were becoming increasingly visible. Cassandra did not know how long she would be held captive, but she hoped her body would adapt to her new diet. 

On what Cassandra could only assume was her tenth day in captivity, the Nord came into the room with food and water. This time, the food seemed to be leftover scraps from some sort of chicken. “You have gone ten days without so much as a drink of water. I guess you’re using magic to keep yourself alive, aren’t you?” the Nord asked as he placed the chicken and water next to the pile of other meals he had brought every day prior. 

Cassandra did not respond. 

“Even elves need to eat and drink eventually. You will rot in your own filth if you don’t tell us everything you know,” the Nord threatened, but Cassandra stayed silent. She was waiting for him to leave the room, as she was very hungry today. “Maybe it will motivate you to know that one of your comrades will be executed soon, since no one will speak.” 

Cassandra’s eyes widened, but she held back the urge to speak. 

“It will be tomorrow. We’re still deciding if we should let you watch or not.” Those were the Nord’s last words before he left the room. He had stopped asking questions as it was apparent Cassandra would answer nothing days ago. Cassandra wondered when they would move on to other torture methods, but she figured that executing one of her companions was a new form of torture. 

Cassandra wondered who was slated to be executed. While she was saddened by the upcoming death of someone, she was relieved it was not going to be herself. She also hoped it was not Hildar, which made her feel guilty. Greld and Jenida— the two Imperial soldiers that joined her to rescue Hildar —were the only two volunteers that would risk their lives to go on a suicide mission to try to rescue Hildar, and Cassandra was not even sure if he was there at all at the time. However, Hildar was her best friend. He was the man that she had been obsessed with finding for months. She blamed his capture on herself, and thus blamed all of their captures on herself. If I had just been a better squad leader, more alert to surprise attacks, maybe I could’ve avoided this entire mess, she thought. 

Cassandra wanted to escape. She did not want anyone to die because of her mistakes, but she was not sure if she could escape at this point. She had been planning an escape since she first was chained up, but was not sure if she could actually execute it. Cassandra’s chains were rusty, and all around did not seem very stable. She hoped that she could burn the chains enough so that they would fall apart and she could be free. However, the only way she could cast a flame spell was with a new way she had been trying to cast spells before she was captured. In an attempt to make up for her disabled arm, Cassandra had began practicing casting spells through her mouth instead of her hand. This went smoothly with some spells. She could already cast some alteration and conjuration spells without using her hands or even her mouth. She was such a master at restoration magic that she could effortlessly heal through her mouth, but destruction magic was a different story. Destruction magic was a relatively new endeavor for her, as she only learned it just before she came to Skyrim four years ago. She had been able to cast very miniscule flames from her mouth, but nothing more. She knew she would need more than that to break free, and even more to escape alive.

Cassandra decided that she would worry about escape after she had her small meal. She lifted up her cup of water with ease now, but suddenly dropped the cup as the Nord barged in the room, shouting, “Ah! So that’s how you survive!” Cassandra’s heart sank; she knew that her food and water was gone. “You are more devious than I thought, halfling!” The Nord took all of the food and water that had piled up over the days out of the room. He returned with some sort of chain in his hand. “Perhaps you will respond better to this!” the Nord shouted before suddenly whipping Cassandra’s torso with the chain. 

Cassandra gasped in pain as the chain struck her bare stomach. This was the first amount of direct pain her captors had actually caused her since her imprisonment. 

“Will you talk now!?” the Nord shouted as he whipped her again. This time the chain struck her shoulder down to her breast. Cassandra let out a groan of pain this time, but managed to hold herself together and not speak. The Nord growled and struck her several more times across her torso, before giving up and leaving the room. 

Cassandra had begun sobbing now. Her entire torso stung. She looked down at herself and saw her body now covered in blood, bruises, and bright red marks. She wanted to heal herself so much, but restrained herself; she had no idea what they would do next if they found out that she healed herself.

She hung there in agony for a while, until a new Stormcloak soldier outfitted in full armor, entered the room. This was her first sight of anyone besides the Nord; she almost began to think that he would be the last person she ever saw. She fell face first to the ground as the guard unchained her arm, unable to catch herself as her arm was stuck in an upright position. The Stormcloak now chained her wrists together, causing her to groan as he made contact with her injured arm. The soldier then dragged her out of the room. She clenched her teeth as she felt her legs get scraped by the hard, rocky floor beneath her. As she was dragged along, Cassandra made sure to look around the prison as much as she could; she wanted to get an idea of what to do if she ever escaped her cell. However, she did not have long as she was suddenly dragged outside.

The sunlight, accompanied with the bright, white snow, almost blinded Cassandra. She closed her eyes quickly, and shivered as she was brought out into the cold snow, still naked. As her eyes adjusted, Cassandra looked around at the scene. There were at least twenty Stormcloak soldiers around, and one held a large axe next to a stone and bucket; she assumed that was the chopping block. She also noticed Hildar, Greld, and Jenida all separated and chained like she was. She also noticed that the three of them still wore their clothes and armor. 

To Cassandra’s horror, Greld was dragged over to the chopping block, and his head was placed on it. Greld was a middle-aged Nord, who had been in the Imperial Army for a few years before the Civil War. He was one of the few people who believed that Hildar could be rescued, and the one who motivated Cassandra to come look for Hildar. He was always charismatic and content, despite the war and state of his homeland. Even as he rested on the block, he did not look sad.

“His life will be spared, if any of you volunteer information,” the Nord who regularly visited Cassandra spoke as he stood next to the executioner.

“Don’t say a word!” Greld shouted suddenly, “I move on to Sovngarde! I have no regrets!”

Cassandra was sobbing again. She could not let Greld die. It was her fault he was here. She had to save him. As the executioner raised the axe above his head, Cassandra suddenly cried, “Riften!”

“Stop!” the Nord shouted, causing the executioner to slowly lower his axe. “What was that?”

“Riften!” Cassandra cried, and struggled to speak, “The Empire wants Riften!” 

“No! Don’t!” Greld shouted as Cassandra spoke, causing the executioner to grab him and cover his mouth. 

The Nord approached her and asked, “Why doe the Empire want Riften? When will they attack?”

“Riften is… on the border of Cyrodiil. They want more supply routes to Cyrodiil…” Cassandra spoke with a shaky voice. She was fabricating everything she was saying. In fact, the Empire was much more concerned with Whiterun at the time. 

The Nord turned to a Stormcloak and told him, “Go send word to Ulfric.” He turned to the executioner and said, “Let the Imperial live for today. This produced great results. I think we should make this a common event.” 

As Cassandra and the others were each dragged back to their cells, she made brief eye contact with Hildar. She had no idea if his face was expressing disappointment or simply shock. Although Jenida and Greld may have known she was lying, Hildar would have no idea about the Empire’s plans since he had been captured for so long. 

Cassandra was returned to her cell and chained up again. The Nord entered the room with her. “Do you feel good? You saved a life today,” the Nord asked her almost mockingly. Cassandra sighed. “You’re very compassionate. I can see the only way you’ll crack is if we threaten your comrades. Then again, we’ll see how long you last without actually having any food or water.” The Nord now left the room again. 

Cassandra knew the next few days were going to be the hardest of her life. She wished she had managed to get that one drink of water, because she knew it might have been her last.


	4. Chapter 4

Five days passed, or at least that is what Cassandra guessed. Five days passed without a bite of food, or a sip of water. Cassandra felt physically worse than she had ever felt in her life. She was perpetually shaking; she did not know if it was from the cold, or from something happening in her body. Either way, she felt like she was dying. She had managed to keep herself alive with every ounce of her healing abilities. She knew she would have to do something. She did not want to die in this cell. She wanted to go home. She wanted to see her family, her sisters. She missed them so much. They were the only reason she kept fighting. The only reason she wanted to live. 

To try to keep her mind off of the pain and suffering, Cassandra began to think of home. She used to live in Cyrodiil, in Chorrol to be exact. During most of her childhood, the city was rebuilding from the damage of the Great War. However, that did not mean the city and surrounding area was not a beautiful place. The Great Forest— which lied east of Chorrol —was a beautiful area with trees and flora for as far as the eye could see. She remembered often visiting the Great Forest with her mother and sisters to gather different plants for potions and food. She remembered that one of her sisters, Camille, loved the forest and nature. Camille loved the animals, the bugs, everything. Camille loved to pretend she was a Spriggan. She was as beautiful as the forest itself. Cassandra pictured Camille’s long, wavy, bright blonde hair falling down to her back and her eyes as bright and green like the flora that surrounded her. Camille’s face was full of petite features, and her smile was bright enough to bring anyone happiness. 

Cassandra pictured Camille in the Great Forest, with Camille's favorite sister— Gwenevieve. While Gwenevieve may not have had Camille’s natural beauty, she made up for it with her intelligence. Gwen’s favorite hobby was to read. Growing up, she read every book their parents had several times over. Gwen wanted to know everything about everything, so she always studied. She had a modest look, much like Cassandra. Gwen’s brunette hair was often pulled back in a ponytail, and her dark eyes suited her brilliant character. 

A third sister now joined the two in Cassandra’s developing fantasy. This time, a tall Redguard woman— Yvonne. She remembered that Yvonne always struggled with magic, as she always seemed to lag behind the rest of her Breton sisters. Because of this, Yvonne preferred to train with both a blade and magic. She was undoubtedly the strongest physically out of the six sisters, but also one of the prettiest. Yvonne loved to braid her dark hair instead of cutting it, and this led to her having tons of long, beautiful braids. Her hair combined with her fit figure made her a fierce beauty. Unfortunately, Cassandra recalled Yvonne sometimes felt alienated as she was the only Redguard in a family of Bretons. 

Another girl joined the scene, conversing with Gwenevieve— Emeline. Emeline was intelligent, just like Gwen. However, Emeline focused her studies on alchemy and various ingredients, herbs, and flora throughout Tamriel. As a child, she would always try to use their parents’ mortar and pestle to create all kinds of potions. Cassandra even recalled a time when Emeline accidentally poisoned the entire family when she tried adding a bit of her special restoration potion to dinner, which actually turned out to be a very weak poison. Emeline kept her black hair short, which curled at the ends just below her shoulders, and had contrasting light brown eyes.

Cassandra had one more sister; a sister that she tried hard not to think about. Despite her efforts, the entire scene and all of her other sisters disappeared. Everything was dark, and a single woman stood surrounded by total darkness. She was staring directly at Cassandra. Her bright, amber eyes pierced through Cassandra. Her wavy, auburn hair fell down to her breasts as she stood there naked. 

“How could you do this to me?” the woman’s voice was sad, but her face was completely expressionless.

“Amaya! Please! I had no choice!” Cassandra shouted suddenly. 

“Go! I hope you find what you’re looking for!” Amaya began to fade after she spoke.

“Amaya! No! Don’t leave me!” Cassandra was suddenly in tears and sobbing loudly. 

“What? Don’t leave you like you left me?” Amaya was almost completely transparent, until she uttered those final words and completely disappeared. 

“No! No! No!” Cassandra began screaming at the top of her lungs. 

“I think she’s finally lost it.” The blackness disappeared as Cassandra heard a voice, and opened her eyes. She saw two Stormcloak soldiers standing in front of her, along with her Nord torturer. 

“Are you alright, halfling?” the Nord asked Cassandra. 

Cassandra could only heave and gasp.

“Give her water. She needs to live through tonight at least. We’ll hold another execution tomorrow,” the Nord instructed before leaving the room.

The Stormcloaks left and returned with a glass bottle. One Stormcloak roughly grabbed Cassandra’s chin to hold her mouth open, and the other began pouring water into her mouth. Cassandra tried to drink it, but it was being poured in far too quickly. Water began to spill out of her mouth and onto the floor. After the bottle was empty, Cassandra began to feel sick instantly. She suddenly threw up water, along with blood, on the Stormcloak standing in front of her. This caused the Stormcloak to growl, “You bitch! You ruined my armor!” The other Stormcloak roared with laughter. Suddenly, the Stormcloak backhanded Cassandra hard with his metal gauntlets. It caused Cassandra to cry out and cough up blood. “I hope you do last the night. I want to take your head myself,” the Stormcloak said angrily. “And stop your damn laughing!” he shouted at the other Stormcloak, before they both left the room. 

Despite having thrown up some of the water, Cassandra was glad to have gotten it. However, she now knew that her execution was tomorrow. She had no idea if her friends would speak up and save her. She did not want them to give up any information, but she really did not want to die. Maybe tonight was the night to try to escape. This might be her last chance. She had to try, because she was probably going to die anyways. She had to try to get out. She had to try to see her sisters again. She had to see Amaya again. However, despite how badly she wanted to escape, she knew she was weak. She had not eaten in days, and she could feel that her magic was not at full strength. Yet she was still determined to try.

Cassandra slowly turned her head to her chained arm, and began to focus. She inhaled, and then exhaled. When she exhaled, a small flame blew out. Cassandra gasped; she actually managed to make a flame. I can do this! she thought. 

She tried to blow again, another small flame. 

Another blow, a slightly bigger flame. 

Another blow, the flame reached the chains.

Another blow, the flames began to engulf a particularly weak and rusty part of the chain.

She blew again, and this time the flame held as if she was conjuring it from her hand. The fire managed to finally break the chains, and her hand was free. She smiled, and almost cried of happiness, but her struggle was far from over. Her now unchained arm was still stuck upright, but Cassandra hoped she could fix this. She began to blow healing magic onto the arm, and she eventually began to gain control of it and was able to move it freely. However, she already began to feel drained of magicka, and it was her only way to fight if she needed to. She had a way to escape without fighting her way out, but she had no idea how far she would be able to get before that stopped working. Cassandra had the ability to make herself invisible, but only for a short period of time— especially in her weakened state. She would have to run quickly to escape, which she was not sure she could even do. 

Cassandra slowly stood up. Her legs were wobbly, as it was the first time she had stood in about two weeks. She slowly stumbled over to the door, and tried to crack it open as silently as she could so that she could peer through. Outside of the door, there were only a couple Stormcloaks sitting by a fire. Cassandra recognized them as the two that had gave her the water earlier. A few moments after she saw them, the Stormcloak who still had Cassandra’s blood on him left the prison through the main doors. She watched as the other Stormcloak sat— his back turned from her —and drank his mead. He’s alone. This may be my only chance, Cassandra thought. 

She slowly approached the Stormcloak from behind. Before Cassandra could strike first, the Stormcloak turned around and saw her. He seemed so shocked that he fell out of his seat. Cassandra threw herself on top of him, and held her hand over his mouth. She shot flames out of that hand, quickly incinerating the inside of his mouth. The Stormcloak struggled and threw Cassandra off of him, but the damage was done. She watched as the Stormcloak stood and attempted to scream, but his throat was charred and it was not long before he suffocated. 

Cassandra sighed in relief as she lied on the floor. This was the first step to escape. She slowly stood up and tried to grab the Stormcloak’s weapon. Unfortunately, the sword was too heavy for her in her weakened state. Thankfully, she also found a dagger on him that she took instead. However, as she grabbed the dagger, she heard a door open. Whoever was entering the prison could not see her yet, so she hurried along the wall that was around the corner from the door. 

She watched as a single Stormcloak entered the room, and she stabbed the dagger into his neck before he could even react to his dead comrade. The Stormcloak gagged, but did not go down yet. He swung around and shoved Cassandra to the hard floor. The Stormcloak stumbled around as he gripped onto the dagger lodged in his neck, grabbing his war axe with his other hand and moving towards Cassandra. Cassandra tried to crawl away, until the Stormcloak began to swing wildly at her. He missed his first swing, and narrowly missed the second. After the second swing, Cassandra quickly blew flames from her mouth at the Stormcloak. The flames made his swinging stop, and made the Stormcloak fall to the ground. He gargled for a while until he fell silent.


	5. Chapter 5

Cassandra’s breathing was heavy. She felt her heart pounding erratically. She knew it was not good to get so much action after being stationary for weeks. Her entire body ached. She wanted to quit so badly; she was in so much pain. However, she could not stop. Not after getting this far. Cassandra used the wall to pull herself to her feet. She stumbled over to the prison keys, and then dragged herself over to the other prison rooms. The other cells were unlike hers; they were not rooms, but more tradition cells with bars. She saw only Jenida, as Hildar and Greld were nowhere to be found. 

Cassandra opened Jenida’s cell, and unlocked her chains. The normally strong, hearty Nord Jenida looked as weak and malnourished as Cassandra herself. Jenida still wore her Imperial armor also. “Cassandra…” Jenida spoke weakly and quietly. 

“Jenida.” Cassandra began healing her arms, which were stuck upright.

“I didn’t tell them anything. I didn’t tell them anything…” Jenida still spoke quietly, and pressed her head against Cassandra’s chest.

“I know…” Cassandra looked down at the shuddering Nord; she had never seen Jenida so weak. 

“I didn’t tell them anything. I didn’t tell them anything. I didn’t tell them anything,” Jenida began to repeat as she cried. 

“Jenida, I know. We need to get out of here,” Cassandra asserted, and tried to make the Nord stand up.

“I can’t…” Jenida instead collapsed onto the ground. 

“Jenida, please. I can’t do this without you…” Cassandra dropped to her knees and also began to sob. 

“I want to die… Just kill me…” Jenida continued to cry. 

“No. We can escape.” Cassandra wiped away her tears. 

“I saw Sovngarde… My grandma was there. My little niece was there. You were there. I want to go to Sovngarde…” Jenida looked up at Cassandra with her face full of tears.

“It’s not your time yet, Jenida. You told me you wouldn’t be satisfied until Skyrim was safe for your family. You can’t fix Skyrim if you’re dead…” Cassandra urged.

“My family…? I want to see them so bad…” Jenida sniffled.

“You will. You will see them. But we have to get out,” Cassandra assured her.

Jenida slowly stood up with Cassandra. “Thank you…” Jenida uttered quietly. 

“Let’s go.” The two of them left the cell and returned to the center of the prison. “Do you know where Hildar and Greld are?”

“The Stormcloaks take them every night. They usually come back very hurt,” Jenida spoke glumly. 

“We might have to leave without them…” It hurt Cassandra to say it, but it was true. The two slowly approached the prison door, and Cassandra cautiously opened it. There seemed to be nobody around. All Cassandra spotted was two guards atop the walls, but they were both looking outside of the fort. “I can make us both invisible for maybe thirty seconds… That should give us time to get into the forest and out of view from the guards,” Cassandra suggested.

“I’m ready, but don’t you want some clothes?” Jenida asked.

“Clothes?” Cassandra glanced down at nude self. “I haven’t worn clothes for weeks. I’m used to it by now.” She sighed. 

Before Cassandra could cast the spell, she noticed a disturbing sight. Out in the fields, Cassandra watched in horror as the Stormcloaks appeared to be training their dogs to attack Hildar and Greld. The two were dressed in full Imperial armor, at least, but the bites and scratches from the dog looked sickening. Cassandra wanted to help, but she knew it would be impossible to save everyone. She knew she had to focus on getting herself and Jenida out first. 

Cassandra had to focus and put all of her magicka into turning herself and Jenida invisible. Eventually, she managed to do it. The two of them hurried as quickly as their weak bodies could carry them. As soon as they reached the trees, both of them fell into the snow. The invisibility lasted just long enough, as it faded away after they fell. 

“Oh, Talos…” Cassandra heard Jenida cry quietly. “We made it. We made it out.” 

Cassandra was happy to be out, but she felt guilty. Hildar was still there. She had endured all of this for him, and she still could not save him. Eventually, the two got to their feet and began to walk through the snowy forest. They did not get far, until their freedom was on the brink again. Suddenly, an arrow whizzed between the two of them. They both looked back quickly, and saw a group of Stormcloaks tailing them from a few hundred feet away. 

“I knew we couldn’t get away…” Jenida muttered under her breath. 

“Jenida! Come on!” Cassandra began to run. 

“We can never get away…” Jenida began to cry, standing still and watching the Stormcloaks run after her. 

Cassandra kept running, tears in her eyes. “Jenida! Please!” she cried loudly. 

At this point, two out of the three Stormcloaks tackled Jenida to the ground. Suddenly, Jenida began to scream, “Cassandra! Don’t leave me!” Cassandra stopped for a moment at that scream, until she saw a third Stormcloak still coming after her. It was the Nord who had been torturing her. Cassandra was going to try to save Jenida, but his face terrified her. She could not go back. She had to keep running. Despite Jenida’s screams, Cassandra had to leave her. She ran and ran. She ran until her legs gave out. 

She fell onto the snow. She looked up at the sky. The two moons and the beautiful lights dancing around. Her view was obscured by the Nord standing above her. He drew his bow and aimed it at her face. “You almost made it,” the Nord chuckled. “No one’s ever escaped from me before.”

Cassandra smiled weakly up at him. “I’ll be the first and the last…”

“Hah!” the Nord scoffed. “I was gonna kill you now, but you don’t deserve to get off that easy.” He threw the bow and arrow aside, grabbed Cassandra by her neck and lifted her off of the ground. “You’re going to rot. Though it doesn’t look like you have much time left.”

“I’m sorry about what happened to your wife, but now you can join her…” As soon as Cassandra finished her sentence, she blew flames into his face. 

The Nord dropped Cassandra and held his burnt face while groaning in pain. When he let her go, Cassandra tried to blow more flames to finish him off, but she could not manage to conjure up any more flames. Instead, she grabbed the arrow on the ground and stabbed it into the Nord’s chest. The arrow snapped as she used it, but the sharp part was now stuck in his chest. The Nord groaned again in pain and dropped to his knees. 

Cassandra wanted to make sure he died, but there was nothing else she could attack him with, so she left him there and stumbled on her way. She figured that he was no longer a threat. He must have at least been blind, if not dying. In any case, he soon faded from her memory. Now she was focused on finding sanctuary. She knew where the fort was, but she struggled to remember its surroundings. 

Eventually, after walking until the sun began rising, Cassandra hit a beach. She was so thirsty; she believed the ocean taunted her as she could not drink its endless water. She sighed, and walked along the shore. She knew she would eventually hit Dawnstar or Winterhold. She did not care which, she just needed food and water— and clothes. So, she walked and walked and walked. Her feet were hurt and cut up from trekking through the forest, but at least the soft sand was some relief. After walking on and on, Cassandra finally saw houses over a rocky hill. It must have been Dawnstar! Cassandra happily dragged herself over to the city, nude and all. 

As she entered Dawnstar, she had to pass by a group of Khajiit with a tent outside the city. One of the Khajiit scoffed as they saw Cassandra, “Look at this woman, naked in Skyrim.”

“Not even this Khajiit with all his fur would do that,” another Khajiit chimed in. 

Cassandra ignored them, and continued on until she was spotted by a guard. The guard ran up to the malnourished, bruised, nude girl. “Woman! What is wrong with you?” the guard asked; it must have been obvious Cassandra was in peril.

“I… I was kidnapped. I just need… A little help,” Cassandra replied weakly. 

“Come on. I’ll take you to the Jarl.” The guard began walking, and Cassandra slowly followed him. However, as they walked, Cassandra spotted a man wearing full Imperial Legion armor. Cassandra left the guard’s side and made her way over to the man. “Hey! Where are you going? You can’t just walk around like that!” the guard shouted, but Cassandra ignored him. 

Cassandra came up behind the Imperial man and suddenly shouted, while dropping to her knees from exhaustion, “Sir! Please help me! I’m an Imperial Praefect! I need to get back to Solitude!”

The man turned to her, and so did a woman standing with him. The woman looked around and helped Cassandra to her feet. “Quiet, soldier,” the woman instructed in a hushed tone. She held Cassandra’s hand and began leading her into a house.

“Brina, I was going to take her to the Jarl,” the guard said as he approached them.

“I’ll take care of her. There is no need to get the Jarl involved,” the woman, Brina, responded sternly.

“But the Jarl told me to inform him of any mysterious—”

“It’s handled, Hylf. You should return to your post,” Brina cut him off and continued with Cassandra to the house.

“Yes, ma’am…” the guard walked away with no other issues.

Cassandra was quickly taken into a house. She was given clothes, water, and food, and sat in front of the fire. “Try to eat slowly,” Brina told her as she set down a bowl of soup in front of her. 

“Thank you…” Cassandra did have to hold herself back from devouring the soup, but instead used the spoon and took small sips. 

“Where were you stationed, soldier? I’ll get you some transport. Though I suppose you should probably return straight to Solitude.” Brina sat at a table with her own soup.

“I’m stationed at Castle Dour, so… That will be fine,” Cassandra spoke in between sips.

“Ah, Solitude. Are you a high rank, or perhaps a recruit?” Brina asked.

“Praefect… Praefect Cassandra Marie... I’m the top healer in the Skyrim Legion…” Cassandra downed most of her water in one gulp, which upset her stomach.

“I said go slow. I’ve seen soldiers kill themselves from gorging on too much food and drink after being freed from imprisonment.” Brina momentarily took the water away from her. “I’m retired Legate Brina Merilis. I’m glad I got to you before the Jarl. He might’ve sent you back to whatever torture you were at.”

Cassandra cringed at the thought of returning. However, this all made her think of Hildar, Jenida, and Greld. “I need to get back to Solitude now. There are other soldiers in that prison. They have to be rescued.” Cassandra stood up quickly, which made her a bit dizzy and caused her to sit again.

“Careful, Praefect. We’ll get you back to Solitude, but you need to recover—”

“I can’t just sit here while they are in there being tortured! I’ll go myself if I have to!” Cassandra stood up again, and stumbled weakly towards the door. The man wearing Imperial armor stepped in front of the door, and shook his head. Cassandra glared at him, before she suddenly collapsed into tears. “They’re still there!” she cried loudly, “It’s my fault they’re there and I couldn’t get them out!” 

“Bring her back to her seat, Horik,” Brina uttered, and the Imperial man gently took Cassandra back to her seat— where she continued to cry. Brina moved her chair close to Cassandra, and put an arm over her shoulder. “Praefect—” Brina paused, now sounding sympathetic, “Cassandra. I once lost over a hundred men in the matter of seconds. It was my fault. I thought I knew better than my superiors. I was demoted several ranks, almost back to a foot soldier. I got command of a few soldiers, and some of them were in that army that was almost totally lost. If I didn’t already hate myself, they made me feel worse. They lost their brothers and sisters because of me. I almost abandoned the Legion after that, but I didn’t. I worked hard, and got better. I proved to them that I could right my wrongs. I fought on the battlefield with those soldiers, and I earned my way back up the ranks. War is a terrible, terrible necessary evil, and soldiers will be lost. All you can do for those that are lost is to keep them in your heart when you fight. Make them be the reason you’ll never stop fighting until you have victory, so you won’t have to lose anymore soldiers like them.”

Cassandra wiped her tears away and nodded. She had nothing else to say. 

“Horik, go arrange a carriage to take us to Solitude,” Brina turned to Cassandra and said, “If you think you can make the trip.”

Cassandra swallowed hard before speaking, “Yes. Thank you, Legate.”


	6. Chapter 6

After Cassandra finished her meal, they prepared to leave for Solitude. As soon as Cassandra and Brina stepped out of her house and into the cold morning, they were confronted by a group of guards and a frail, old man dressed in the clothes of a nobel. 

“Brina, who is this woman?” the old man asked aggressively as he pointed at Cassandra.

“She is a victim, Skald. Nothing that concerns you,” Brina shot back quickly.

“If a crime happened in my hold, it most certainly involves me! Unless there is some conspiracy going on!” Skald ranted angrily.

“She wishes to return to her home, and I intend to take her there,” Brina answered calmly, but sternly.

“Oh no! Not until she is properly questioned!” Skald shouted back. Cassandra began to grow nervous; she knew Jarl Skald was fiercely loyal to the Stormcloaks. 

“I apologize, Skald,” Brina said in an unapologetic tone. “But this is a familial matter.”

“Oh! A familial matter! I’m supposed to believe this shell of a woman is your kin! The great Brina Merilis’s own kin!” Skald spat sarcastically. Cassandra grew angry at the insult, but managed to hold herself back from responding.

“I don’t care if you believe it or not. We have our rights as citizens to travel freely through Skyrim as we have committed no crimes,” Brina responded, beginning to walk past the small crowd of guards.

“These are war times, Brina! I can do what I feel necessary to protect Dawnstar!” Brina pulled Cassandra along as Skald continued to rant, now following behind the two women. “Perhaps I cannot stop you from leaving, but I can stop you from using that carriage! Have fun walking to Solitude on foot!” 

“I do apologize for shattering your fragile ego, Skald, but you don’t own every carriage in this hold.” Cassandra noticed that Horik was already sitting atop the carriage, before Brina helped her in. 

“If you go to Solitude, I’ll brand you as a traitor! I’ll have you locked up for the rest of your days!” Skald’s anger was growing.

“We’ll see about that. Hopefully Dawnstar will survive my short absence,” Brina snarked before entering the carriage herself.

“Familial?” Cassandra asked with a chuckle.

“That wasn’t a lie. I see all legionnaires as my family.” Brina smirked as she leaned against the carriage. 

Some hours later, the carriage arrived in Cyrodiil...

“Well, Brina, thank you for bringing back my healer,” General Tullius smiled at Brina as he spoke, which Cassandra rarely ever saw him do. 

“I merely brought her to Solitude, she reached Dawnstar herself.” Brina smiled back. 

“There is always room for another Legate if you ever want to come out of retirement,” Tullius leaned against the table in the center of the room.

“If you truly need me, you know where to find me.” Brina crossed her arms. 

“Hmph,” Legate Rikke scoffed before turning to Cassandra. “I’m glad to see you back alive, Praefect. What do you have to report?”

“They have many soldiers at Dunstad… Hildar and the two I took to save him are still prisoner there…” Cassandra sighed and shifted in her chair uncomfortably.

Rikke nodded. “We’ll get them out of there.”

Before Rikke could say anything else, another Legate approached them. “So the healer is back. Surviving another rebel encounter,” Adventus sounded skeptical. 

Cassandra glared up at him, not fond of his tone. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I just find it odd that you’ve been the only survivor of all these run-ins with the rebels,” Adventus answered in a serious tone.

Cassandra stood up and shouted, “How dare you!? I wasn’t the only survivor! Hildar is still back there!” Cassandra was in tears now. “You think I’m a traitor! Look at me! I weigh thirty fucking pounds! I haven’t ate in—”

“Praefect, calm down!” Rikke suddenly shouted. “And go do something useful, Adventus!” He left quickly. Rikke then leaned in close to the sobbing Cassandra. “I think there’s something we should discuss alone.”

Rikke took Cassandra into another room, and they both sat down facing each other. “Praefect, you’ve been through a lot. You’ve been injured, you’ve been captured and imprisoned. That takes a lot out of a soldier, both physically and mentally. I think it’s time for you to consider retiring, or at least taking some time away from the war. Maybe back at home.” Cassandra had never heard Rikke speak so compassionately. 

Cassandra was shocked at the proposal. “But… I can’t. You know the Legion is already low on healers in Skyrim.” Cassandra did not know why she was fighting it; she wanted nothing more than to return home. 

“There are other healers we can get.”

“Oh, that’s all I am.” Cassandra chuckled sarcastically. “A disposable healer—”

“Cassandra!” Rikke raised her voice now, “When you came to Skyrim, you were just another healer. Now you’re one of the toughest damn soldiers I’ve ever met. But even the strongest need time to rest and heal. I’d love for you to come back someday, but you keep pushing yourself here and you’re gonna get yourself killed.”

Cassandra sighed, maybe she was right. Maybe it was finally time to go home. Although she wanted to go home, she was afraid. Cassandra had not been home for a decade, and she was worried about how much things may have changed. The last time she even exchanged letters with anyone from home was nearly two years ago. “I could… come back when I want to?” Cassandra asked. 

“Of course. We’d welcome you back with your current rank and command.” Rikke had a small smile. 

“Alright. I’ll go home…” Cassandra gave up. “But promise me you’ll go after Hildar at Fort Dunstad?”

“I’ll draw up a plan of attack immediately, and I’ll get you on the list for the next transport to the Imperial City,” Rikke assured.

The transport was not for a few days, but there was a courier that was leaving for Cyrodiil that night. Cassandra decided to use the opportunity to send a letter to home, before she arrived. It took her an hour to write it, and her handwriting was quite sloppy due to the fact she was still shaking almost constantly. She figured it was legible enough though. She read the letter one final time before handing it over, “Dear Gwen, I’m finally heading home! I don’t know when you’ll get this letter, but I’m guessing I’ll make it to Chorrol a week and a couple days from today, the twenty-fifth of First Seed. It’s been awhile since I’ve been home, and I’d love to have you help me get around at least for the day. I also want to mention that I’ve been through a lot these past few months, and that I’ve been pretty badly injured and I may not look the healthiest. Just don’t be alarmed when you see me, and maybe pass the message on to our sisters if you can. On a more personal note… I’m so sorry I haven’t kept in better touch. I miss you so much and I can’t wait to see you. I know in some of our last letters that you said our sisters don’t keep in touch too often, but I’d like to try to get them all together at least once when I get back. Don’t bother to write back, I’ll be home before you know it. I love you. Cassandra.” 

Cassandra gave the letter to the courier that night, and he was on his way. She spent the next few days carrying out her normal healer duties. She tried to work off the guilt of leaving by healing as many soldiers as she could, but it still would not go away. She had nightmares almost every night. She was always back in her cell, having to endure endless days of torture, then escape and leave Jenida behind. It was always the same. She almost contemplated giving up on trying to sleep. Reliving the torment was too much. She hoped being home would stop the nightmares.

About five days later, the transport to the Imperial City was being prepared. Legate Rikke formally discharged Cassandra, along with a few other soldiers who would be returning home. The transport consisted of five caravans full of supplies and materials, like ore and different ingredients, with twenty-five soldiers traveling with them— including the returning ones like Cassandra. They left early in the morning with the hopes of reaching the Imperial City in just three days. Cassandra was given the option to ride in the Caravan, or get her own horse; she decided to take the horse. 

The trip through Skyrim was surprisingly calm. They traveled through the Reach, with not a single attack from any Forsworn. At this point, the dragons were at their height in Skyrim, but not a single one disturbed them. They traveled through Falkreath, and one of the other soldiers suddenly shouted, “We’re in Cyrodiil now, boys!” which caused cheers. 

Being back home after so many years reminded Cassandra of the first time she arrived in Cyrodiil, as a small child. Cassandra was born in Daggerfall. She was orphaned at a very young age. Her father was an Imperial soldier, and presumably died in the Great War. Her mother was so stricken with grief that she drank herself to death. At only the age of six, Cassandra was sent to an orphanage where she met Amaya. Amaya was a couple years older than her, but they became best friends. They both kept to themselves, and rarely socialized with any other girls their age. Sometimes, however, the two of them had to help the adults with the younger children. The orphanage was severely overcrowded and understaffed. Cassandra recalled that most nights she had to sleep on a very thin blanket on a hard wooden floor crammed next to several other girls. She remembered that food was sparse, also. Older girls like her and Amaya often had to get through the day eating nothing but bread and drinking dirty water. However, those days were a breeze compared to what she had just gone through. 

 

\-----

 

Cassandra remembered the specific day when she was adopted. It was around noon. Cassandra and Amaya were so skilled at taking care of children that they had a small group of babies and toddlers assigned to them. Amaya walked into a small room— a baby in her arms. “Another one?” the young Cassandra asked as she was burping a baby herself.

“Yep. This one was just fed too. So she needs to be burped.” Amaya sat next to Cassandra and started burping the new baby. This new baby was unlike the others Cassandra and Amaya had to take care of; this baby had particularly dark skin.

“Why is her skin so brown?” Cassandra asked as she set down the baby she had been holding and watched Amaya.

Amaya smiled. “She’s a Redguard, not a Breton like us.” 

“Oh. Then we’ll have to give her a Redguard name!” Cassandra exclaimed with excitement. 

“I guess so, but I don’t know any!” Amaya giggled.

“Me neither…” The baby next to Cassandra started to cry, so Cassandra lifted her up again. 

“Emeline’s still being a brat?” Amaya watched Cassandra lift the baby.

“A little bit.” Cassandra tickled Emeline’s stomach, which made the baby laugh. “But not too bad.” 

“Good.” Amaya now looked to a toddler who was playing with another baby across the room. “Gwenevieve and Camille are so cute together!”

“I know! They really get along.” Cassandra smiled at the two playing. 

Amaya turned to Cassandra and smiled. “We’re such good mommies.” 

“We really are. I hope our family stays together forever.” Cassandra smiled back at her. 

“Cassandra. Amaya,” a soft voice was heard at the door, “We have some adopters here.” Madame Lucille stood at the door with a man dressed in armor, and a woman in an beautiful dress. Madame Lucille was a middle aged Breton, the head of the orphanage, and a very tired looking woman. Cassandra could tell she was tired; she could see it in her eyes and hear it in her voice. She did have to take care of dozens of children in one house. “This is Sorelis and Viratira Marie. They’re looking to adopt an older girl.” 

“An older girl? Just one?” Amaya asked, and Cassandra could hear the fear in her voice. Madame Lucille nodded with a sad smile. Cassandra figured Madame Lucille knew this was going to be a difficult situation, splitting two best friends. Amaya set down the Redguard baby before pointing at Cassandra. “Take her,” she insisted. “ She’s the best daughter anyone could have. She’s such an amazing girl. Please take her.” 

“Amaya!” Cassandra whined suddenly. She did not want to leave Amaya behind. 

“Cassandra. You deserve better than to live here,” Amaya sniffled as she spoke.

Cassandra’s eyes filled with tears as she set down Emeline. “Amaya… I can’t leave you.”

“Oh, Sorelis!” Viratira suddenly exclaimed to her husband, tears in her own eyes, “Let’s take both of them! We can’t split these darlings up!”

“You’re right, dear.” Sorelis nodded at his wife. “We’ll take both, Madame.” 

“Both? Yay!” Cassandra exclaimed and suddenly hugged Amaya. 

“Oh, Cassandra!” Amaya hugged her tightly, before letting go suddenly and looking around at the younger children in the room. “But… Who will take care of these girls?” Amaya asked Madame Lucille. 

“Oh… I’ll figure it out. It’s just four more girls.” Madame Lucille let out an exhausted chuckle. 

“We can’t leave them… They’re our family,” Amaya insisted, now looking at Viratira. 

“Oh, dear…” Viratira began to wipe away tears. “Honey…”

“Six girls, my love? A Redguard, too?” Sorelis spoke in shock.

“They’re a little family! They were burping the babies when we came in!” Viratira asserted.

“Amaya. Cassandra. I can handle them. Please, just let the Maries adopt you,” Madame Lucille pleaded. Cassandra figured Madame Lucille was worried that they may not get adopted at all.

“I can’t leave my sisters. Not Camille, Not Emeline, Not Gwenevieve, and not…” Amaya began to say.

“Yvonne,” Cassandra suddenly came up with a name for the Redguard and spoke up. 

“You named them…?” Madame Lucille asked with a gasp.

“Of course. They’re our sisters. They needed names.” Amaya crossed her arms.

“We’ll take all of you,” Soleris said suddenly, causing everyone to gasp. “As long as you promise to help take care of your sisters.” He smiled at Cassandra and Amaya.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope the frequent switching from memories to reality isn't confusing! Thanks for reading!

“Hey, healer!” the sudden shout brought Cassandra out of her memory. 

“Yes?” Cassandra grumbled; she was enjoying her flashback.

“I heard you got out of Dunstad,” A soldier that was riding behind her spoke. 

“I did.” Cassandra sighed; she did not want to talk about this.

“How’d you do it?” another man entered the conversation. 

“I’d really rather not think about it…” Cassandra tried to escape the conversation.

“I understand if you don’t want to talk about it, but I was hoping I could include you in this edition of Tales from the North.” 

That name— “Tales from the North” —was familiar to Cassandra. She remembered reading it often as she prepared to go to Skyrim a few years ago. “Are you Menello Lachan?” Cassandra said as she turned and saw a man that was not a soldier riding a horse across the road. 

“That’s right.” The Imperial patted his satchel. “Ever since my last big hit a few months ago, I haven’t been able to get another big story like it.”

“Are your stories even true?” a soldier scoffed, “That story about that Khajiit and Nord that you showed me. That can’t be true.” 

“Oh, it was true! The vampires, dragon, all of it!” Menello insisted. 

“I knew a Khajiit and a Nord travelling together a few months ago. Wouldn’t it be crazy if they were one and the same?” Cassandra chuckled, thinking about her old friends. 

“You mean you haven’t read it yet? Menello, give her one!” the soldier insisted.

“I think I have one in here…” Menello reached into the satchel and pulled out rolled up papers. “Here you go,” Menello tossed the papers over.

Cassandra barely caught the papers with her one arm, and struggled to unroll them. Eventually, she unrolled them and began reading. “Hey. Ysola and Ma’zhar! They are the same Nord and Khajiit!” Cassandra spoke happily, having no idea the two ever faced Vampires or met the famous Menello Lachan. 

“Hm… This gives me an idea. When did you meet these two?” Menello asked.

“Well, I met Ma’zhar on the way to Solitude. He saved my life, and then we ran into Ysola—” Cassandra recalled.

“Hold that thought!” Menello scrambled through his satchel and pulled out a quill and paper. He seemed determined to write even though he was on horseback. “This will be perfect. Everyone will be wondering what became of the Nord and the Khajiit!”

“I have quite the story for you, Menello,” Cassandra giggled. 

Cassandra entertained the entire transport— at least those that could hear her —with Ma’zhar’s and Ysola’s story. Eventually, night fell and the head of the transport decided to make camp since they were in Cyrodiil. It was the third night, but the transport had hardly got any rest as they traveled night and day for the past two days. The Imperial City was close, and Chorrol with it. Cassandra knew she would reach Chorrol tomorrow, and she stirred anxiously in her bed roll. She was excited to see her sisters, but still somewhat fearful. She was especially scared of Amaya, and how Amaya might treat her. 

To try to get that thought out of her head, she tried to recall some good memories about Amaya. She remembered a time when Amaya and her snuck out their parents’ brandy when they were young teens. The girls took the alcohol when both of their parents were not home, and their other sisters were preoccupied. They snuck out to their hideout in the woods; a small hut that Camille made so she could sleep with the animals some nights, even though their parents never allowed that. 

“Are you sure this is such a good idea, Cassandra?” Amaya asked, having been nervous about the entire idea.

“It’s fine! Mom and dad always get happy when they drink this stuff!” Cassandra assured her, opening the bottle and sniffing it. “It does smell a little funny, though.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t do this…” 

“Well, I’m going to.” Cassandra slowly lifted the bottle up to her mouth. “Here goes…” Cassandra poured some into her mouth, and then made a funny face.

“Well, how is it?” Amaya leaned in closer and giggled at Cassandra’s odd expression. 

“It’s definitely strong…” Cassandra’s face twisted as if she had eaten something very sour.

“Well, let me try!” Amaya suddenly snatched the bottle and downed some of it. Her face also scrunched up, before she let out a cute hiccup. 

Cassandra giggled at her, before she hiccuped too, which caused Amaya to giggle. The two continued to giggle and hiccup together, taking small sips of the brandy. Eventually, the bottle was empty, and the two girls were laying next to each other in the hut. They were both silently staring up at the ceiling of the hut until Amaya mumbled, “I love you, Cassandra.”

Cassandra giggled and moved over so that she was lying on her side with her head on Amaya’s chest. “I love you, too,” she said with slurred words.

“You’re the best sister ever…” Amaya lazily wrapped her arms around Cassandra. 

“No, you are…” Cassandra giggled. 

“No, you!” Amaya laughed.

They continued this back and forth for awhile, until Amaya suddenly stopped responding. “Amaya…?” Cassandra asked woozily as she looked at up at her sister. Amaya’s eyes were closed, and her breathing was rhythmic. Cassandra smiled as she watched Amaya sleep. Cassandra never really noticed how beautiful Amaya was before. The way her dark auburn hair curled and shimmered in the light. The only blemishes on her face were very faint freckles, which were adorable. Her lips were so pink and full. 

Amaya was perfect, and she only got more beautiful with age. 

Cassandra leaned in close and kissed Amaya’s cheek. “Goodnight…” Cassandra set her head back down on Amaya’s chest and fell asleep herself. 

Cassandra slowly woke up, back in reality, after a soldier gently shook her awake. “Praefect, we’re moving out.”

“Thank you…” Cassandra yawned as she stood up. Today was the day. In just a few hours, she would be home. Finally.

The transport reached the Imperial City in another hour or two. The city was bustling as usual. Cassandra pushed her way through the crowds— she was in a hurry. She was headed to the Imperial Palace itself. She was there to give the Imperial Clerk her discharge papers, get her transport to Chorrol, and get her compensation for her time in Skyrim. 

Cassandra approached the entrance to the palace slowly, where she was stopped by a couple guards. “Halt. What business do you have here?” 

“I’m Praefect Cassandra Marie. I was stationed in Skyrim, and I’m here to be honorably discharged,” Cassandra explained as she pulled out her discharge papers and handed them over.

The guard without the papers chuckled. “I could tell you were from Skyrim with that low quality armor of yours. Is that what they give you out there?”

Cassandra looked down at her armor. It was the Skyrim Imperial standard, just leather without the ornate decorations of Cyrodiil’s Imperial armor. Her old armor was much better— with a fur cape and all —but she lost that when she was captured. “Yeah. It’s not the best,” she joked.

“Well, well, you seem to be quite decorated, Praefect. This is from General Tullius himself,” the other guard said as he handed the paper back to her. 

“I didn’t know that.” Cassandra chuckled as she took the paper.

“You’re free to go through. The Clerk’s office is the room on the left.” 

“Thank you.” Cassandra stepped inside and made her way to the Clerk's office. 

She peeked into the room, and saw a balding Bosmer writing in a book. “Come in,” he said, not even looking up at Cassandra. 

Cassandra cleared her throat and stepped in. “Hello. I’m Praefect Cassandra Marie and I’m here to—”

“Give me your papers and I will direct you accordingly.” The Wood Elf held out one hand, still writing the whole time. 

“Okay…” Cassandra muttered under her breath and handed him her papers. 

The Clerk finally stopped writing and glanced at the papers for just a few moments before setting them down. He turned from his chair and grabbed another piece of paper, quickly scribbled on it, and gave it to Cassandra. “Take this to the treasury. They’ll get you your money.” Cassandra opened her mouth to ask where the treasury was until the Bosmer interrupted without her even speaking, “The Treasury is upstairs and the fifth door on the left. Good day.”

Cassandra sighed and left the room. That was an odd encounter. Things were much different in Skyrim. Cassandra went to the treasury, where a few guards stood in front of a large safe with many locks on it. There was also an Imperial woman in the room, who greeted Cassandra warmly. “Why, hello there, sweetie. Here for compensation?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Cassandra gave her the paper; she just realized that she had not even looked at it at all.

“Cassandra Marie? The healer?” the woman asked with a smile.

“I think that’s me.” Cassandra scrambled to remember who this woman was. 

“Oh, it’s alright if you don’t remember me. You saved my life, you know. It was many years ago. When the Foxglove Inn nearly burned to the ground.”

“I do remember that. I’m happy I could help.” Cassandra smiled. Cassandra tried not to feel bad; it was easy to forget how many lives you saved as a healer, she figured. 

“I see you’re down for... Ten thousand septims! My goodness! How long have you been in the Legion?”

“Eleven years… Since I was twenty-one.” Cassandra never thought about how long eleven years was until now, and how much she has changed.

“Well, I don’t think you’ll be able to carry all of it to wherever you’re going! You can take some now and purchase our delivery system to bring the rest to you. It’s just 200 septims to anywhere in Cyrodiil.” 

Cassandra nodded. “That sounds great. I’ll need it taken to Chorrol…” Cassandra had no idea where to actually take it, but she guessed her parents’ farm was the safest bet. “Well, actually, a small farm outside of Chorrol. Centurion Farm. If I’m not there, my parents will take it.”

“Here,” the woman handed her a form and a quill, “Write all of that information and sign for it. As well as whatever gold you’d like to take now. The rest of your septims will be delivered within the week.” Cassandra took the form and wrote on it, and signed it. 

“I’ll take 100 septims now… Do you happen to have any pouches here I could use?” Cassandra asked as the guards began to open the safe. 

“We could provide you with a pouch for five gold,” the woman smiled as she spoke.

“I guess I’ll take out five extra septims for that…” They really charge for everything here, just like I remembered, Cassandra thought. 

Cassandra left the treasury, and returned to the stables where her horse was. It was finally time to go home. She checked her map one final time to make sure she knew the way to Chorrol, and she was on her way. Cassandra had to travel through the Great Forest to get home, but she figured it might only take her a few hours. She hoped Gwenevieve got her letter and would be expecting her in Chorrol.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some really juicy backstory coming up in the next chapter... Stay tuned!
> 
> Also (I know I'll mention this multiple times) I'm not sure why but I really really really often call Gwen Cassandra and call Cassandra Gwen. Like I mix the two names up for some reason. If you happen to see a really bad instance of this, please let me know! But I think it's edited well. Thanks!

There it was. Chorrol. Cassandra was finally back after nearly a decade. She could not help but smile when she saw the castle walls up above the trees. Chorrol still looked the same from the outside, at least that had not changed. Outside of the city, also, Cassandra saw something that nearly brought tears to her eyes. A tall woman was sitting down on the stone walls along the path that led to the city. She was reading a book, had her hair in a ponytail, and had a staff strapped to her back. Classic Gwen. 

“Gwen!” Cassandra shouted as she got off of her horse and began to rush to Gwen.

Gwenevieve looked up from her book. “Cassandra?!” she shouted back happily. Gwen hopped off of the wall and ran over to Cassandra. 

The two greeted each other with a very tight, very long hug. “Gwen, I missed you so much!” Cassandra was already in tears. 

“I missed you too!” Gwen also was in tears. Eventually, they broke the hug but still stayed close to each other. “I… I can’t believe you’re actually back,” Gwen uttered.

“Me neither… I haven’t even been back in the city, or back home, but it still feels surreal…” Cassandra wiped her tears away. 

“We have so much to talk about. I don’t even know where to start…” Gwen smiled at Cassandra, before hugging her again. 

“Yeah, it’s all a little overwhelming…” Cassandra hugged her back, trying not to break out into tears again.

“I decided that we should get everyone together again. I want to have dinner at the farm tomorrow night. I haven’t talked to any of the other girls yet, but I was hoping I could bring you along to go see each of them. That will convince them to come to dinner.” Gwen still had a huge smile on her face.

“That’s a great idea. Who are we going to see first?” Cassandra asked apprehensively; she was both hoping and not hoping Gwen would say Amaya. 

“Well, the only sister I know for sure where she’s at is Camille. So I guess we’ll go see her first.”

Cassandra let out a sigh of relief and nodded. “I’ll go put my horse in the stables and we can go.” 

Cassandra tied her horse up at the stables, and returned to Gwen. “She’s in the Great Forest right now. Teaching a class,” Gwen spoke as she led them into the forest.

“She’s teaching at the Restoration School now? Out here in the Great Forest?” Cassandra asked, somewhat confused.

“Oh no. I run the Restoration School now. I turned it into more of a… general Magic school, but we mostly do healing. Camille teaches an… interesting class, to say the least.” 

“Does Amaya still teach at the school…?” Cassandra asked lowly.

“No,” Gwen seemed to speak almost sadly, “She hasn’t worked at the school for many years,” she paused to clear her throat, “I’ll tell you more about it later. We’re almost there.” 

“Okay…” Cassandra immediately grew worried about Amaya. She did not have time to dwell on it too long, as they soon approached a group of people. 

The group— almost ten adults —was sitting cross-legged in a circle. They were a diverse group of different races, and none of them had clothes on. Cassandra also noticed that they all had their eyes closed and were sitting perfectly still. Cassandra jumped slightly as she heard a growl next to her. A large grey wolf growled as it slowly approached her. The growling seemed to disturbed some of the people sitting, as they flinched and stirred. As Cassandra was about to reach for her sword, Gwen put her hand out and held Cassandra’s hand still. Cassandra looked at Gwen, and Gwen shook her head. 

“That is a scent I haven’t smelled in a while…” Cassandra heard a familiar voice come from the group, and searched for it. Her eyes met with Camille’s bright green eyes. “Welcome home, Cassandra,” Camille spoke in her soothing voice as she stood up, completely naked. 

“Hello, Camille,” Cassandra replied with a smile, still unsure about exactly what was going on. 

Cassandra noticed some of the people in the group trying to cover up their genitals after they looked at Gwen and Cassandra. “Do not be ashamed of your nature. These women will not judge you.” Camille smiled at some of the nervous people in the group. “However, class is over for the day. You may go.” With those words, the people in the group got dressed and left. “And you, Serene, you be nice to our sister,” Camille giggled as she spoke to the growling wolf, who suddenly seemed to calm down and sit. Camille stepped over to Cassandra, and they hugged each other. “I’ve missed you so much, sister.” 

“I missed you too, Camille.” They broke the hug. “What’s all this?” Cassandra asked.

“You mean my class?” Cassandra giggled. “I’ve decided that I want to help people be closer to nature.” She stepped away from her sisters and grabbed a crude dress on the floor, then putting it on. It was very short and was fashioned out of some kind of animal skin. She walked over to the wolf and rubbed its head. “This is Serene. She’s another sister of ours. I live with her out here, and we take care of each other.”

“You live out here?” Cassandra asked. She was not too surprised, even as a young girl Camille tried to live outside. 

“Mhm!” Camille smiled and stood up. “The Great Forest is my home now. I could take you to my den if you’d like to see it?”

“We’d love to, Camille, but we need to go visit our other sisters,” Gwen intervened. “We were wondering if you’d come to the farm for dinner tomorrow, with the whole family.” 

“That sounds wonderful!” Camille showed her bright smile and ran her fingers through her messy, wavy blonde hair. “Serene and I will be there.” 

“I’m glad,” Cassandra said before she hugged Camille one more time. “Then I’ll see you soon.” 

“Do you mind if I come with you?” Camille asked suddenly. “I ended my class early today, and I don’t need to go foraging today or anything, so I’m free.”

Gwen smiled. “Of course, Camille. We haven’t been spending enough time together anyway.”

“Great! Serene, the Great Forest is under your protection for now. I’ll be back soon,” Camille spoke to the Serene before kneeling down and pressing her forehead against the wolf’s. Serene let out a little whine, which caused Camille to frown sadly. “Oh Serene, I’ll come back soon. Don’t worry you big, fluffy sap!” Serene then licked Camille’s face which made her giggle. Camille stood up and smiled at her sisters. “Lead the way.”

The three sisters now left the forest, and entered Chorrol. While Chorrol was somewhat busy, it was not nearly as full and chaotic as the Imperial City. “We’re headed to the Fighter’s Guild. Yvonne’s a member there,” Gwen explained. 

The trio approached the Fighter’s Guild building and went inside. “Greetings, ladies.” A large warrior in full armor, except for a helmet, greeted them by bowing. “Gwenevieve. Are you looking for Yvonne?” The man looked to be an able fighter. He had messy, red hair and a strong jawline.

“Yes, Macrinus. She’s out on a job now, isn’t she?” Gwen replied.

“She is. Someone complained about a couple undead roaming by a ruin around here, and she volunteered to go take them out.” Macrinus rubbed the back of his head and spoke shyly. “I could take you ladies if you’d like.”

“Undead around a ruin…” Gwen muttered to herself. “No, that’s fine. We’ll go ourselves,” Gwen answered, and left the building in a hurry. 

“What’s the rush?” Cassandra asked as her and Camille attempted to catch up to their sister. 

“Yvonne is in a very dangerous place. She might need us to help her!” Gwen now broke into a run. Cassandra and Camille had to run after her. 

Eventually, the three women left Chorrol. They ran through a bit of forestry until sounds of combat could be heard on the other side of some bushes. Gwen busted through the shrubbery, so Cassandra and Camille did also. A few dozen feet away— next to a large, white, and decaying Ayleid ruin —a strong Redguard woman was battling almost a dozen zombies. There were already a few dead zombies on the ground, and the Redguard added to them by slicing off a few heads with her silver claymore. Gwenevieve was the first to jump in to help; she grabbed her staff that was attached to her back and sent lightning out of it that disintegrated one of the zombies. Cassandra lept into action next. Cassandra stepped forward and shot flames at one of the zombies. Camille was the last to join in; she used a spell unlike Cassandra had ever seen. Camille conjured hornets and some green energy to attack one of the zombies. With the four women fighting together, the group of zombies were quickly eliminated. 

“I didn’t need it, but thanks for the help, girls,” the Redguard woman sheathed her claymore and spoke with a sigh. “And welcome back, Cassie.” She grinned at Cassandra.

“I missed you, Yvonne.” Cassandra smiled and walked up to the tall, strong Redguard. “Wow, I haven’t been called Cassie in a while…” 

The two hugged. “What are you all doing here anyway?” Yvonne asked as she sheathed her claymore.

“We went looking for you at the Fighters Guild, and they said you were here,” Gwen answered, appearing worried with her eyes locked on the ruins.

“Yeah. I was about to go in and find out why all these undead are coming out of these ruins.” Yvonne began walking towards the ruins.

“Wait,” Gwen spoke suddenly, “You can’t go in there!”

“Why not?” Yvonne turned to Gwen with an eyebrow raised. 

“I’ve done research on those ruins…” Gwen uttered, her eyes still fixated on it. “This is Lindai. It is filled with all kinds of undead, very powerful undead. You can’t go in there, or you won’t come out!” Gwen asserted.

“You usually have more confidence in me, sister,” Yvonne chuckled. “Do you think the four of us could do it together?” 

“No. No one should go in there. The dead will stop rising as long as they stay undisturbed.” Gwen sighed.

“This is really unlike you, Gwen,” Yvonne said before continuing to head towards the ruins. “Don’t you love exploring Ayleid Ruins?”

“Yvonne! Stop!” Gwen followed the Redguard, and so did Cassandra and Camille. 

Despite Gwen’s pleas, Yvonne walked up to the entrance of the ruins. She tried to open the doors, but they would not budge. Yvonne grunted as she pulled on the doors hard. “Damn…” she panted as she let go.

“See? The doors are sealed. The only way the undead get out is if someone really wants them out.” Gwen crossed her arms. 

“Alright. Fine. Don’t be so pushy.” Yvonne tried to open the door once more before sighing and sitting by the door. 

“We should get out of here. We’re disturbing the dead just by being here…” Gwen uttered as she began to walk away from the ruin. Cassandra wondered what was going on with Gwen, and why she was acting so unusual. Cassandra looked at Yvonne, who shrugged and walked off with Gwen. 

“Gwen really seems to not like this place…” Cassandra said quietly to Camille.

“There is evil down there. I can sense it,” Camille responded as the group now moved towards Chorrol. 

“So, Yvonne, We are gathering all of the girls together tomorrow night at the farm to celebrate Cassandra’s return,” Gwen now spoke calmly and seemed normal again. 

“All of the girls? Even Amaya?” Yvonne questioned skeptically.

“Why do you say it like that?” Cassandra asked quickly. 

“Well, Amaya has been…” Yvonne paused and rubbed her chin. “Gwen have you not told her about Amaya?” Yvonne turned to Gwen.

“What do you mean? What’s wrong with her?” Cassandra began to feel panicked.

“I was going to… I just didn’t want to dampen her mood or anything.” Gwen sighed.

“Tell me!” Cassandra was almost shouting now.

The other girls all looked at Cassandra, who blushed with embarrassment. “Amaya has been through alot. I can tell that things have happened to her,” Camille spoke sadly.

“When you left for the Imperial City, Amaya fell apart,” Gwen spoke now, “She began drinking heavily, and hanging around with all kinds of, well, indigenerates. It was only about a week after you left until she disappeared entirely. She was gone for years. I never thought I’d see her again. When she came back to Chorrol, she was a changed woman. In a way, she reminds me of how you are now. I can tell you’ve gone through something horrifying, and I think she did too…”

“Oh Gods… Is she doing alright now?” Cassandra began to sniffle.

“She’s okay. She’s sunk low, though… I don’t know how to put it, but...” 

“She’s a hooker, that’s what.” Yvonne cut Gwen off. 

“A what!?” Cassandra quickly looked at Yvonne.

“A prostitute. She sells her body. She says she gives people therapy and healing, but she’s really fucking them. All of her regular clients are guys,” Yvonne spoke bluntly. 

Cassandra could not believe it. Her precious, innocent Amaya was now selling her body. It was all her fault. She did this. If she would have stayed, Amaya would still be the same. Tears began to fall down Cassandra’s cheeks. She never knew this would happen. 

“Cassandra…” Gwen wrapped arm around Cassandra’s shoulder as they walked. “It’s okay. I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you again.”

“I can’t go see her…” Cassandra cried softly. “This is my fault. I did this to her…”

“Don’t blame yourself. It was her choice to get into that…” Gwen sighed as she tried to console her sister. 

“I shouldn’t have left her… I could’ve stayed. We could’ve been happy together…” Cassandra rubbed her tears away with her hand. 

“Just how close were you two…?” Camille asked lowly, sounding sad about the whole situation. 

“I guess you all should know what was really going on.” Cassandra sighed; her breathing unsteady. “Amaya and I were much closer than just sisters…”


	9. Chapter 9 - Cassandra

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is told in the first person POV of Cassandra. 
> 
> It also includes some psuedo-incest.

This happened almost fifteen years ago...

“Amaya. I’m bored. You wanna go for a walk?” I asked Amaya as I stared out the window. I saw dark clouds were brewing in the sky, but I liked the rain.

“Isn’t it about to rain?” Amaya replied. She was sitting in a chair next to me, reading a book.

“It might sprinkle a little, but it doesn’t seem too bad,” I lied. “Plus, I’m bored!” I whined as I sunk from the window and to the floor, looking up at Amaya’s book— a restoration book. 

“You know, you could be studying. It might help your magic get better.” Amaya looked over her book at me, and we both giggled.

“That’s boring too. My magic is already the best.” I stuck my tongue out at her. I was very cocky back then.

“Alright.” Amaya shut her book. “Let’s go for a walk.”

So, the two of us left the farm. This was when I was probably seventeen and Amaya was nineteen. Our parents and you all were in Chorrol, doing something at the time.

It wasn’t long before it started to get windy. Then start sprinkling. Then start raining. Then start downpouring. 

“Oh Gods! What have you got us into, Cassandra!?”Amaya shouted and laughed as we ran through the pouring rain.

“I didn’t know it was gonna rain this hard!” I laughed as I ran. It was almost impossible to see through the hard downpour, but I was pretty sure of where I was going. 

“Whatever!”

Amaya and I eventually reached our destination. We quickly took shelter under Camille’s hut. Thankfully it was sturdy enough to keep rain out, even in the heavy downpour. We laughed and playfully shoved each other once we got inside.

“Now I’m soaked!” Amaya let out a sarcastic whine.

“You’re not the only one! I’m soaked too!” I giggled as I tried to wring out my ponytail.

“But I’m not the one that said it would be fun to take a walk while it’s raining! You deserve this!” Amaya laughed and gently pushed me.

“Whatever!” I sighed as I gave up trying to dry my hair. “Help me out of my dress?”

“Ugh, fine.” Amaya let out a fake groan. The two of us struggled to pull me out of my dress. The soaked fabric was heavy and hard to pull off of my skin. Eventually, we managed to pry it off. I happened to not be wearing a bra that day, so I was completely topless. It didn’t matter much; Amaya and I were completely comfortable with each other. “Alright. Now help me out,” Amaya asked.

Getting Amaya’s dress off was even more of a struggle. We almost managed to get it off of her, but then it got stuck around her neck. “You pull away, and I’ll pull on the dress. That’ll get it off,” I suggested as I grabbed the end of the dress. 

“Hurry up! I think it’s choking me!” Amaya giggled and let out a few fake coughs. 

“1… 2… 3!” I suddenly pulled hard on the dress. Apparently, I pulled harder than I thought. The dress came off, but Amaya also came flying towards me. She collided into me and was now laying on top of me. We were face to face. I stared into her bright, amber eyes. I felt her hot breath against my face as we both panted. I could feel her warm body pressed against mine. She was completely nude. At that moment, we both seemed to realize something, because we laid there for almost a minute— silently gazing into each other’s eyes. 

We realized how we truly felt about each other. We realized that we loved each other more than just stepsiblings loved each other. We realized that we were soulmates. That we were bound together. 

Amaya swallowed hard before silently climbing off of me, and sitting cross legged. I sat up and moved beside her. My body was extremely hot, and I could feel my face blushing. “Amaya…” I spoke quietly.

“Yes?” Amaya responded just as quietly. I could tell she was flustered too. Her face was completely red, making her cute freckles quite visible. 

“I love you…” I swallowed nervously. 

“I love you, too…” Amaya let out a little, awkward chuckle.

“I don’t mean like that…” My words caused Amaya to look at me. “I love, love you…” I did not know how else to put it.

“I… Love, love you, too…” Amaya smiled at me. 

The two of us let out awkward, little giggles as we stared into each other’s eyes. Then my gaze fell to her lips— those perfectly pink, full lips. They were parted ever so slightly. It’s almost as if they were calling for my lips. Amaya said something to me— I could tell by her lips moving —but I didn’t hear what it was because I was lost in thought. She began to speak again, but at that moment I moved forward and pressed my lips against hers. 

I felt her gasp as soon as our lips touched. We were looking into each other’s eyes again as we kissed. She didn’t move, or react in any way besides the gasp. I began to slowly pull my lips away, until Amaya suddenly wrapped her arms around my shoulders and held me close. She started kissing me quite vigorously. So I tried to replicate the kissing back. I had never kissed anyone before, so I’m sure it was sloppy, but I tried. The two of us made out for a little while, with our bodies pressed against each other. Finally, after a few minutes, Amaya released her grip on me and broke the kiss.

We were both panting heavily. “Cassandra…” Amaya spoke breathlessly. 

“Amaya…?” I uttered as I tried to catch my breath. 

“Is this okay…?” Amaya rubbed her lips. “Is this right?” 

“It felt right…” I shrugged and smiled.

Amaya smiled widely, and giggled. “We can’t tell anyone.” 

“I know.” I giggled too.

“I love you.” We were both giggling as Amaya suddenly hugged me tight and put all her weight on me, taking me down to the ground.

“I love you too.” I felt tears begin to build up— tears of joy. I had never been so happy. Not since the two of us were adopted together.“Will you stay with me forever?” I asked Amaya, with tears streaming down my cheeks.

Amaya smiled and wiped my tears away. “We already promised each other that, silly.”

“I guess you’re right…” I smiled at her. 

We did a lot that day in that hut. We made love… A few times. We promised to stay with each other forever. We fell in love. For the next few years, our romance continued in secret. We managed to hide it from all of you, I guess. Things were perfect, until the day when the Imperial recruiter came to Chorrol…

It was only a few weeks after Amaya and I began to work at the Restoration School for Girls in Chorrol. The one we all went to, and the one Gwen runs now. It was fun teaching the girls, and it gave them a good way to stay away from chores so they all loved it. We were in the middle of a lesson, when an old, staunch Imperial in full armor came to the field where we held class. 

“Is this where the healers are taught?” he asked. 

“Yes, this is the Restoration School for Girls,” I answered; I had no idea why he was there.

He looked at the group of about twenty girls— their ages ranged from ten to eighteen. “The Empire is suffering from a severe lack of healers. The Emperor himself has authorized conscription of healers into the Imperial Army.”

“Conscription?” I asked; admittedly I wasn’t familiar with the term.

“Mandatory enrollment, ma’am,” the Imperial answered. “Any healer over the age of thirteen is subject to serving in the Imperial Army. Their lives won’t be put in danger, of course. They will simply work as healers in the Imperial City, and eventually throughout the Empire’s holdings in Tamriel.” 

“What are you saying?” I still didn’t understand what was going on.

The Imperial sighed; he was getting frustrated. “I’m here to inform you that any girl here fourteen or older is ordered to the Imperial City to become an official healer of the Empire. There will be a transport to the Imperial City arriving here in two days. That is ample time for the girls to gather their things and say their goodbyes.”

The girls all gasped, and so did I. Over half of the girls were at that age. Many of them began to cry and complain. I couldn’t believe the Empire would do this. Take young girls from their homes. It wasn’t right. “Sir, the Empire can’t do this. These are just girls. They shouldn’t be forced to be in the army!” I shouted at him.

“Ma’am. It is an honor to serve the Emperor. These girls should be honored.” He began walking away.

“Wait! Sir! You can’t take them!” I pleaded. I couldn’t imagine the girls being taken from their families. I couldn’t let it happen.

“I have my orders,” he asserted. “It’s happening all over Cyrodiil. Not just here.” He continued walking again.

I felt helpless. I looked back at the girls; they were hugging, sobbing, and whining. “Sir!” I shouted, “Don’t take them! Take me!”

The Imperial sighed and finally turned back to me. “We’re not taking you, because you need to keep teaching them. And you’re just one woman compared to dozens of them?”

“I can heal twenty soldiers as fast as they can each heal one! They’re all young and inexperienced. I’ve been doing this much longer than they have. Just let me go. Leave them!” I pleaded, not even considering the magnitude of what I was doing.

“I’m getting too soft…” he mumbled and rubbed his face before continuing, “Fine. You better be the best damn healer we get or I’m getting chewed out. Meet me at the center of Chorrol in two days.” 

The Imperial left, and I went back to the girls. They quickly surrounded me. “Cassandra! You can’t leave us!” one of the girls begged. 

“It’s alright. I needed to make sure you could stay here with your families and friends,” I tried to calm them.

“Thank you so much,” an older, Bosmer girl with small antlers on her head said to me, causing them all to say ‘thank you’ simultaneously. 

“Is Amaya going to be our teacher all the time now?” a younger girl asked.

Oh Gods, I thought at that moment. Amaya. I hadn’t even thought about her. What would she say? Surely she’ll come with me. These thoughts muddled my mind. “I think class is over for today, girls. Go home, please…” I spoke sadly. 

We all left the field, and I went home; a rather small building that Amaya and I recently bought together. “You’re home early,” Amaya spoke cheerfully as she set down her book. “Not that I mind.” 

“Yeah…” I sat down at the table she was sitting at.

“Is something wrong?” Amaya reached out and grabbed my hand.

“No. Just tired, so I had to end class early.” I had no idea why I lied. I just didn’t want to tell her yet. Tomorrow, I thought. 

“Okay. I made tea. Maybe that’ll help.” Amaya smiled as she walked over to the fire. 

“I want to take the girls again tomorrow,” I uttered, wanting to make sure I got to say a final goodbye to them.

“Don’t you think you should maybe get some rest?” Amaya asked as she brought the tea over, and set a cup down in front of me. 

“No, I want to make up for today.” I took the cup of tea and sipped it.

“Alright. Whatever you want.” Amaya giggled and kissed my cheek. I kissed her cheek and then nervously fiddled with my cup, wondering how the next couple days would go. 

“Amaya, would you ever want to…” I paused in an attempt to find the right words. “Go on an adventure. Or move away, or something?”

Amaya gave me a funny look. “Why?” she asked with a laugh.

“I don’t know… Just for some excitement or something?” I shrugged; I was not very relieved by that response.

“Are you getting bored around here?” Amaya asked again with a laugh as she walked behind me, and wrapped her arms around my shoulders as I sat. 

“No. Not at all,” I answered truthfully.

“Then why do you want to leave, sweetheart?” Amaya now genuinely asked. 

“I don’t want to leave…” I let out a sigh, hoping Amaya might pick up a hint of what I was trying to say.

“Well, you have a funny way of showing it.” Amaya giggled before she kissed my cheek and then walked into another room. “We’ve got it all here. Good paying jobs. Our sisters. And the two of us are finally living together on our own. This is our dream, right?” Amaya continued from the next room.

I nodded and let out a brief, “Yeah.” 

“And don’t you remember what we promised to do?” she asked.

I remembered immediately what she meant. We promised each other that once we were settled and on our own together, we would adopt a little orphan girl. “Yeah,” I uttered.

“Maybe once she’s all grown up. Then we’ll go on our adventure, okay?” Amaya smiled as she reentered the room. 

“Okay…” I sighed again. Not even wanting to think about how Amaya would handle having to leave for the Imperial City. 

The next day started, and went along as normal. I handled class that day, and said goodbye to all of my students. Before heading home that afternoon, I met up with Gwen to talk over the whole ordeal.

“Just tell her. You two can go together. It would probably be an adventure.” Gwen tried to cheer me up about all of it.

“But what if she doesn’t want to go?” I asked; that situation was really my worst nightmare.

“Oh, come on, you are the closest two people I’ve ever known. You two would follow each other to Oblivion and beyond.” Gwen smiled.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” I shrugged.

“It’ll be interesting to see when you two get married. Are you gonna make your husbands live together with you two?” Gwen giggled, and I let out a nervous, fake chuckle. 

When I got home that night, Amaya wasn’t home, which was odd. She had no reason to be out, so I started to worry. I waited for a while, but she never came. I decided to go looking for her. The only place I knew that would be open that late was The Oak and Crosier, so that’s where I went. I put on my coat and immediately rushed over to the tavern. I could tell it was as full and rowdy as always because I could hear the noise of the tavern from outside. 

I slowly opened the door, and looked around. Mostly I saw brutes, drunkards, and warriors; this was not a place for my beautiful Amaya. But there she was. Amaya was sitting at the bar, talking to some man. Before I could even approach her, Amaya looked at me. Or rather she glared at me. She said something to the man next to her, which made him laugh, and then walked over to me. 

“Amaya, what are you…?” I began to ask, but she just pushed passed me and went outside. I followed her out, and then she stopped with her back turned to me. “Amaya? What’s going on?” I was getting frustrated now.

“When were you going to tell me?” Amaya spoke sternly, “Or should I say, were you going to tell me at all?” 

“What are you talking about?” I was genuinely confused at the time. 

“I’m talking about going to the Imperial City, and joining the Imperial Legion!” Amaya now turned to me and shouted.

I gasped. I couldn’t believe she found out. “Amaya… I was going to tell you,” I fumbled with my words because I was so shocked by her reaction.

“Were you? You weren’t just going to leave me?” Amaya now spoke mockingly and condescendingly. I had never seen her so upset before. 

“I swear I was. I just couldn’t find the right time…” I spoke sadly. Amaya had never shouted at me or spoken to me in such a way. My feelings were hurt.

“Don’t lie to me! I’m sorry this life isn’t adventurous enough for you! I thought I would be enough, but I guess not!” she continued to let out angry shouts. 

“Amaya!” I yelled suddenly. “I did it because they were going to take the girls!”

Amaya shook her head. “I know the whole story.” She began to speak in a mocking tone again, “I’m Cassandra. I’m such a noble girl. I care more about my students than my lover and my whole livelihood.” Her tone then went back to anger and frustration, “Well what about us!? Did I ever cross your mind!? You know I love it here!”

“I just thought that you’d understand and come with me…” I was in tears now, and struggled to get out my words.

“I don’t want to throw away my entire life, Cassandra!” Amaya shouted. “I don’t want to go join some stupid army I don’t care about!” 

“Are you going to come with me…?” I continued to cry. 

“Ugh…” Amaya groaned. “Go home, Cassandra. At least let me enjoy my last night here.”

“I love you…” I uttered before Amaya stormed back inside. I rubbed my eyes. That was not the best response, but at least I knew she was coming with me. I dragged myself home alone, and struggled to fall asleep that night. I was waiting for Amaya to come home. Before she ever came, however, I fell asleep. 

I awoke the next morning, and Amaya still wasn’t home. Before even getting ready for the day, I looked around for her. I looked throughout Chorrol. Nothing. I went back to The Oak and Crosier and asked about her, and all they said was that she left with another woman sometime that night. The worst thought entered my mind, did Amaya cheat on me? Or even worse, did Amaya run away with another woman? 

Defeated, I went back home to cry. I cried, and then I got angry. I started to destroy things in the house. I tore up books and smashed our dinnerware. As I had my angry outbreak, there was a knock at the door. I thought it was Amaya, so I rushed to it. I opened it, and it was the Imperial recruiter from two days earlier. 

“Ma’am, I’ve been waiting for you. It’s time to go.” He hardly even reacted to the destroyed interior behind me. 

I hesitated to do anything. If Amaya was truly gone, there was nothing left for me here. She had to have left me, or else she would’ve shown up. I figured that if Amaya still wanted to be with me, she’d come to the Imperial City herself later. So I decided to go with him, and that night was the last time I ever saw Amaya…


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I never realized how many chapters it would take to get to the main plot. This fic might be a really long one. As of posting this, I'm on Chapter 26 and it's just barely getting to the main plot... I guess it makes sense since the Marie sisters are very important. 
> 
> Some pretty heavy cussing and sexual themes in this chapter.

“Oh by the Divines…” Gwen uttered under her breath as Cassandra ended the story. “Cassandra. I’m so sorry. If I would’ve known that, I would’ve told you everything about Amaya.” 

“What do you mean…?” Cassandra asked; Gwen seemed to imply that ‘everything’ was bad.

“I don’t know a lot, but some heavy things happened to Amaya after you left,” Gwen spoke sadly.

“Like what?” Cassandra asked quickly, not appreciating how Gwen was dancing around the subject. 

“After you left, Amaya disappeared. I thought that she may have went with you, until you sent me a letter asking about her. I searched for her. I even went to Bruma and Skingrad to look for her, but she was gone. I gave up after some months, and reopened the school because it had closed down with you two gone. After six years, Amaya came back. She was so different than before.” Gwen paused to take a deep breath, then looked at Cassandra as they walked. “In many ways, she looked like you do now. Thirty pounds lighter. Tired. Weak. Battered. Broken. She looked like she lost her innocence. And so do you.”

Gwen paused now, and seemed to struggle with some thought. “Gwenevieve,” Cassandra tried to get her to continue. 

“She came back with something, too,” Gwen continued, “But, I can’t tell you what it is… I think you need to see it for yourself.”

“Gwen. Please. Tell me,” Cassandra pleaded suddenly. 

“I can’t. You’ll take it better if you see it for yourself.” Gwen sighed.

Cassandra shivered anxiously now. She had absolutely no idea what Gwen could be talking about. “Can you at least tell me why she was gone. Where she was?” Cassandra spoke as she shook.

“I only know rumors. Amaya wouldn’t tell me anything,” Gwen answered. 

“What are the rumors?” Cassandra pressed on.

“I don’t want to tell you them…” Gwen sighed.

“I’ll tell you them,” Yvonne spoke up suddenly, “She was—”

“Stop.” Camille spoke in her elegant voice. “Cassandra deserves to hear the truth from Amaya herself.” 

Yvonne grumbled. “Fine.” 

“We’re here, anyways…” Cassandra muttered as she laid eyes on the same little house she left a decade ago. 

“Are you going to be okay, Cassandra?” Gwen asked.

Cassandra did not respond, but kept walking up to the door. She wanted to leave. She did not want to confront Amaya, but she knew she had to. Cassandra put her hand up to the door to knock, but she could hardly work up the courage to do it. 

“It’ll be okay, Cassandra.” Camille reassured her. 

Cassandra glanced back at her sisters, who all smiled encouragingly. Cassandra finally turned back toward the door, and knocked. She heard a familiar voice ask, “Who is it?” That was Amaya’s voice. Cassandra could already feel tears building up. 

Gwen answered, shouting, “It’s Gwen! Someone’s here to see you!”

The door slowly opened. Cassandra’s heart was pounding, and her stomach dropped. Amaya did not answer the door, though. A small girl stood at the front of the door. Cassandra looked down at her— very confused. The girl had light red hair, so light it was practically orange. Freckles covered her cheeks. Her curious eyes were a familiar amber color. Cassandra stood silently as she stared into the girl’s eyes, as the realization hit her.

Cassandra was practically frozen, as a woman walked up behind the girl holding a pot. “Who is it, Lucille?” Amaya asked before laying eyes on Cassandra. She let out a gasp and dropped the pot; its contents spilled all over the floor. 

“Mommy, are you okay?” The girl— Lucille —looked down at the messy floor beneath her. 

Amaya and Cassandra locked gazes, until Amaya silently turned away and stepped back into the house. She walked over to a table and sat down. Amaya’s face was in disbelief as she propped her head up on her hand. Cassandra watched Amaya. She did not take her eyes off of Amaya for a moment. 

“Amaya? Are you alright?” Gwen asked as she peered around Cassandra and into the house. 

“Yes…” Amaya uttered quietly. 

“I think you and Cassandra should talk…” Gwen continued.

“Come in…” Amaya swallowed hard before continuing, “Cassandra.”

Cassandra looked back at her sisters. At first they all looked at her with nervous faces, but then all gave some fake smiles. “When you’re done here, come to the school. You can stay there with me for the night,” Gwen told Cassandra with a smile.

“Gwen,” Amaya spoke up, “Can you take Lucille to the school tonight?” 

“Mommy. I don’t want to go learn tonight,” Lucille whined. 

“You’re not learning tonight. Just go have fun with Auntie Gwen tonight,” Amaya motioned for Lucille to walk over to her before hugging Lucille. Amaya kissed the top of her head. “I’ll come get you later. I love you, sweetheart.” 

“I love you too, mommy.” Lucille smiled. “Hey. Who is that lady?” Lucille pointed at Cassandra.

Amaya sighed and looked at Cassandra. “I don’t know yet, sweetie. Now go on.” 

Lucille nodded, and walked passed Cassandra to Gwen. Cassandra stepped into the house, and closed the door slowly. “Hey.” Cassandra did not know what to say.

“Hey…” Amaya gave a weak smile. Cassandra stood awkwardly next to the door until Amaya said, “Come. Sit.”

“Okay.” Cassandra slowly stepped over to the table and sat down. 

“What happened to your arm?” Amaya asked as she looked down at Cassandra’s arm in the sling. 

“I was ambushed.” Cassandra looked down at her own arm as it sat in its sling. “Hit from behind.”

“Oh. I’m sorry. You can’t fix it?” Cassandra shook her head at Amaya’s question. “If you can’t no one can, you always were the best healer.” Amaya gave another weak smile. 

Cassandra gave her own smile, and then sighed. “So…”

“Lucille?” Amaya interrupted her.

“Um, yeah…” Cassandra let out a nervous chuckle, and rubbed her head.

“It’s a long story, but she’s my daughter. I don’t know who her father is…” Amaya stood up and walked away, then came back with a cup of tea. “Here.” Amaya set the tea down in front of Cassandra. 

“Thank you, but I should really clean up that mess.” Cassandra sipped the tea.

“No. I dropped it, so I’ll get it.” Amaya left the room again, and came back with cloth before she started to clean up the floor. 

“Gwen tells me you were gone for a while after I left…” Cassandra spoke lowly. 

“I was,” Amaya answered bluntly. “But, I don’t know if I want to talk about those times right now…” Amaya slowly stood up after wiping up all of the mess.

Cassandra nodded. “Okay.” She finished her tea and set it down. “I’m sorry…” Cassandra looked away from Amaya as she quietly uttered these words. 

“Don’t be sorry yet.” Amaya walked passed her and into another room, before stepping back out and speaking rigidly, “You have no idea how sorry you’ll be.”

Cassandra grew worried. What does that mean? she thought to herself. “Okay…” she spoke sadly. 

Amaya sighed as she took a seat at the table next to Cassandra. “I didn’t mean for that to come out so hostile.” Amaya uncomfortably shifted in her chair, causing it to audibly scrape against the floor. “Cassandra. What were you expecting when you came back here?” Amaya now looked directly into Cassandra’s eyes. 

Cassandra quickly looked away before answering, “I don’t know…”

“Do you still have feelings for me?” Amaya pressed on.

“I don’t know,” Cassandra hesitantly answered. She actually did not know. Could two people still be in love after all these years? she thought.

Amaya nodded and crossed her arms. “I haven’t often thought about ever finding love again. Lucille is my life now.”

“How old is she?” Cassandra now smiled. Her and Amaya had always talked about adopting an orphan girl like themselves, and naming her Lucille. 

“She’s six. She’ll be seven soon.”

“You still chose to name her Lucille…” Cassandra spoke with some disbelief.

Amaya nodded. “Yeah. It just seemed like the right thing to do.”

“You don’t have to answer this if you don’t want to—”

“I probably won’t,” Amaya cut her off.

Cassandra cleared her throat before continuing, “Why don’t you know who her father is?” 

Amaya let out a frustrated sigh, rubbed her face, and suddenly spoke angrily, “I don’t know who her father is because I had sex with ten fucking guys that day!” 

Cassandra cringed at those words. Cassandra gagged. She felt her stomach grow hot. The idea of Amaya being with a man— or so many men —made her want to throw up her guts. How could my Amaya do such a thing? Cassandra’s scrambled mind thought. 

“Oh Gods. Look,” Amaya rubbed her forehead again as she paused, “That didn’t sound right. There’s context…”

“What context could explain that!?” Cassandra was now breathing heavily, as if she were in a panic. 

“Well…” Amaya’s eyes suddenly narrowed as she responded sharply, “I don’t need to tell you anything! You don’t deserve to know! You weren’t around to do anything! It was all your fault!”

“My fault!?” Cassandra and Amaya both stood as they began their shouting match. “If you would’ve came with me, whatever happened wouldn’t have happened!”

“Oh!? It’s so fucking simple, isn’t it!? You know everything, don’t you!? Fuck you! You abandoned me!” Amaya yelled seethingly.

Cassandra growled. “This is your fault! You should’ve came home with me that night! You abandoned me!” 

Suddenly, Amaya slapped Cassandra. Cassandra gasped at the sudden hit and rubbed her cheek. Just moments later, Amaya was in tears and crying frantically. “Don’t you ever say I abandoned you! You have no idea what happened to me that night! My life was ruined that night!” Amaya now tried to rub away all of the tears, but she could not seem to stop crying. Amaya’s voice now dropped from yelling to somber speaking, “I shouldn’t be alive… I shouldn’t have ever escaped… It haunts me every night…”

Cassandra could hardly believe what Amaya was saying. It sounded almost exactly like what Cassandra would say about her own capture. Instead of saying anything, Cassandra stepped towards Amaya and wrapped her arms around the crying woman. Amaya was a few inches shorter than Cassandra, so Cassandra rested her head on top of Amaya’s head. Amaya kept crying as she tightly wrapped her arm around one of Cassandra’s arms. 

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what you’ve been through…” Cassandra spoke softly with tears streaming down her cheeks. “But I’ve been captured, too. I was on the brink of death for so long. The only thing that gave me the strength to escape was the thought of seeing you again.”

Amaya slowly pulled away from the hug, and walked toward the wall with her back to Cassandra. “Cassandra… We can’t… This can’t…” Amaya sniffled. “Ugh!” she suddenly groaned in frustration and hit the wall with her fist. 

“Amaya… I don’t understand.” Cassandra watched Amaya’s emotional display with worried eyes. 

Amaya hit her forehead against the wall now, and let out a growl. “I know. I’m sorry. Maybe you should go…”

“Why?” Cassandra questioned; she thought that her and Amaya were finally connecting again. 

“I can’t…” Amaya began to say before trailing off into tears. 

“You can’t?” Cassandra assumed Amaya was speaking about being with her romantically. “Why not?” Cassandra stepped a little closer. 

“Just go!” Amaya angrily swung around to face Cassandra; her face covered in tears again. 

Cassandra took a step back from Amaya’s sudden movements. Cassandra figured there was only one reason why Amaya could not love her. “Who are they?” Cassandra asked as she fought tears. 

“Who is who?” Amaya’s eyes narrowed as she answered loudly. 

“Who is your… Your lover? Who’s the reason that this can’t happen?” Cassandra shook with jealousy. 

Amaya’s lips parted and her eyes widened. “What?” Amaya mouthed. She suddenly shook her head as she bursted with laughter. Amaya covered her mouth as she leaned against the wall, and continued to howl with laughter. However, the laughter soon became sobbing, and Amaya collapsed against the wall until she was sitting against it. 

Cassandra watched in disbelief. She wondered if Amaya had gone mad. Amaya’s actions eerily reminded her of Jenida’s mental breakdown in Skyrim. 

Amaya cried for a few moments, before she sighed and looked up at the ceiling. “I’m dirty, Cassandra…” Amaya spoke nonchalantly. She spoke as if nothing at all had just happened. “I have no shred of purity left.” Amaya dropped her head and let it bounce as she stared at the floor. “That’s not what you want. Nobody wants a girl that’s been used by half of the men and mer in all of fucking Tamriel!” Amaya raised her head enough to look into Cassandra’s eyes as she shouted her last sentence. 

Cassandra swallowed hard. She tried to keep those images of that out of her head. She did not want anyone touching Amaya, especially in that way.

“Unless you’re one of those sick freaks that likes that. You won’t believe how many men like to hear how I’ve been tossed around like—”

“Shut up!” Cassandra yelled furiously. Amaya stopped, and silently stared at Cassandra. Cassandra was shaking violently. Her face was red. Her fists were clenched. “I don’t care how many men you’ve slept with. I don’t care that you’ve had a child. You’re still my Amaya, You may think you’ve changed, but I still see the same Amaya I loved ten years ago.”

“Cassandra…” Amaya stood up slowly. “I’ve been trying to drive you out, so you don’t get hurt.”

Cassandra stepped closer to Amaya. “You can’t hurt me. I’ll never stop loving you.” Cassandra stepped right in front of Amaya and cupped both of her cheeks. “Just tell me... Why do I need to go?” Cassandra whispered as her and Amaya were face to face.

“Y-You don’t need to go…” Amaya’s amber eyes gazed into Cassandra’s deep brown eyes. 

Cassandra closed her eyes and began to lean forward to press her lips against Amaya’s until there was a quiet knock at the door. Cassandra paused and opened her eyes because of the knock, and saw that Amaya’s eyes were closed and her lips were parted. Cassandra was going to ignore the knocking and kiss her until she recognized the quiet voice calling out, “Amaya? Are you in there?”

Cassandra glanced at the door, and when she looked back at Amaya, her eyes were open and looking to the door. “Emeline,” Amaya uttered softly, before gently pulling away from Cassandra. “I should answer it.”


	11. Chapter 11

“I’m sorry for disturbing you two…” Emeline rubbed her shoulder and looked down at the floor. She always was the shyest of the six sisters, and it could be heard in her meek voice.

“Of course not. Come in.” Amaya stepped aside.

“I can come back later…” Emeline lifted her head just enough to make eye contact with Amaya. 

“Nonsense. Come in please.” Emeline nodded at Amaya’s words and shuffled in slowly. “How much did you hear?” Amaya asked as she closed the door. 

“N-Not too much…” Emeline gently brushed her hair out of her face. “Well… A lot of it…” 

“Hello, Emeline,” Cassandra spoke happily. Emeline was the last of her sisters she had yet to meet, and Cassandra was glad to see she was still the quiet, nervous girl she had always been.

“Hi, Cassandra.” A small smile grew on Emeline. “Gwen told me you were here, and wanted me to come check on you guys…”

“Well, it’s good to see you.” Cassandra hugged Emeline, and Emeline gently hugged back. 

“I guess I’ll go now…” Emeline uttered after breaking the hug. “You two seem to have something going on…” 

“No, nothing’s going on,” Amaya asserted quickly, which hurt Cassandra a little. “Besides, we need to go too. It’s almost Lucille’s bedtime.” 

Cassandra pouted silently and crossed her arms. She was looking forward to some intimate catching up with Amaya. So, as the sun approached the horizon, the three women left to Gwen’s home. The walk was quiet and uneasy. Cassandra was upset at how Amaya treated the situation.

“Bye Auntie Gwen!” Lucille hugged Gwen before leaving with her mother. Amaya left with Lucille without even saying goodbye.

“Goodbye, sisters… I need to get home to Silvayth.” Emeline left next, and Cassandra and Gwen went inside of the school. 

“Silvayth?” Cassandra asked as they walked inside. The school was also Gwen’s house, as it had an extra room where she slept. 

“Emeline’s husband. He’s a Dunmer that she met in Morrowind,” Gwen replied as she walked around the room and lit candles with a flame spell. 

“You’re telling me that Emeline’s the only one of us that’s married?” Cassandra chuckled at the thought; shy, little Emeline getting married. 

“I guess so. I think the rest of us are all too focused on our work to get in a relationship.” Gwen giggled and sat down at a table with Cassandra. 

“You’re telling me that Gwen doesn’t have her eye on anyone?” Cassandra joked.

“No, I don’t.” Gwen stuck her tongue out at Cassandra. “So,” Gwen cleared her throat before continuing, “How did things go between you and Amaya?”

“Oh…” Cassandra frowned at the thought. She was still bitter about Emeline breaking up her and Amaya’s kiss. “Things went fine,” Cassandra grumbled.

“It sure doesn’t sound that way…” Gwen tilted her head.

Cassandra huffed. “Thanks for sending Emeline over,” she said in a harsh, sarcastic tone.

“Oh, I see.” Gwen rubbed her neck. “I’m sorry. I just thought things weren’t going to go so well between you two…” Gwen rested her head in her hands and looked down at the table. 

Cassandra sighed and set her hand on Gwen’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. We were about to kiss, but I don’t know if Amaya really wanted to do it…” Gwen nodded in response. “Gwen. Will you please tell me what you know about Amaya?” 

“Cassandra, please—”

“I need to know,” Cassandra asserted sternly as she pulled her hand away from Gwen’s shoulder. “Amaya told me things…” Cassandra rubbed her throat as she began to feel choked up. 

Gwen looked over at her sister. “I’ll tell you, but you have to understand why I don’t want to.” 

“Why?” 

“There’s two reasons…” Gwen leaned back in her seat. “First of all, I don’t want you to look at Amaya the way most of our other sisters do.”

“What do you mean?” Cassandra asked, confused.

“I know it didn’t seem like it today, but our sisters judge Amaya. Well, Yvonne and Emeline do. They judge her very critically. She’s practically an outsider now. We don’t all get together as sisters very much, but when we do, they usually don’t want Amaya around. It’s not just because of the rumors about her either. She’s just… different. Whatever did happen to her, it affected her so much. She’s… depressed, always on edge, unstable. I hate to put it this way, but she just isn’t normal.”

Cassandra frowned; Amaya seemed a little different, but not deserving of that description. She felt disappointed in her sisters. Don’t they know that Amaya practically raised them? Cassandra thought.

“And the second reason is that I don’t want you to feel like it’s your fault,” Gwen continued.

“But it had to be my fault,” Cassandra spoke glumly. 

“See? That’s exactly what I mean. No matter what you did, Amaya could’ve made better choices,” Gwen began speaking sternly now. 

Cassandra rubbed her temples as she let out a frustrated sigh. “Just tell me what it is.” 

“Fine. I think that after you left, Amaya left Chorrol and became a prostitute.” Gwen hesitated to get out her words. 

Cassandra swallowed hard; she still hated hearing Amaya being referred to as such. 

“But not like she is now. At least now she’s doing it for herself. From what I hear, she was a… sex slave. She was a victim of human trafficking. Her whole life was dedicated to whoring,” Gwen seemed uncomfortable as she spoke. 

“Stop!” Cassandra shouted suddenly. “Please…” she pleaded as her tears built up.

“Cassandra, I told you it was bad…” Gwen griped as she saw Cassandra at the verge of tears. 

“I know…” Cassandra took heavy breaths as she tried to avoid crying— something she had been doing far too much of lately. 

“Why don’t we talk about something else?” Gwen attempted to speak cheerfully, as she stood up from her seat. “I’ve been doing a lot of research on illusion spells and spellcrafting, and I’m trying to devise a spell to give you complete control over someone’s mind.” Gwen pulled a book off of a shelf and brought it to the table.

“Gwen, that sounds pretty dangerous. Why are you trying to create something like this?” Cassandra asked skeptically as she looked at the large book set in front of her; it was completely black.

“I just want to see if I can do it,” Gwen assured her. “I think I’ve got the spell constructed, but I’m trying to find a way to reduce the magicka needed to cast it. It’s just far too powerful for me to cast.” 

“Well, if you can’t cast it, what makes you think I can?” Cassandra asked as she opened the book in front of her. The first page was completely blank, where the title and author’s name would usually be. “And you didn’t even give yourself any credit?” Cassandra chuckled as she flipped on.

“Just read some of it.” Gwen stuck her tongue out at Cassandra. 

Cassandra quickly scanned the pages, flipping through them and getting the general idea of the text. “Gwen, this is all really advanced,” Cassandra said as she continued flipping through the pages. 

“I’ve been doing a lot of research.” Gwen sat down and crossed her legs as she watched Cassandra look through the book. 

“Gwen, I can’t even read this page. What language is this in?” Cassandra struggled through the text now as she looked at unfamiliar words.

“Oh, that’s Ayleidoon. Like the Ayleids,” Gwen answered rather nonchalantly. 

“Ayleidoon? How do you even know that?” Cassandra looked up at her sister.

“I spend a lot of time in Ayleid ruins, so it helps to have a basic understanding of their language.”

Cassandra shrugged. “Okay…” She directed her attention back to the book, and read it for a while longer; eventually, about half an hour later, she gained some understanding of how to cast the spell. “I think I know what I’m doing now,” Cassandra said loudly. 

Gwen had left Cassandra to her reading some time ago and was cleaning. “Great!” Gwen eagerly stepped back over to the table and sat with Cassandra. “Now, I want you to cast the spell on me.”

“You?!” Cassandra let out a surprised gasp. “Gwen, isn’t this a little dangerous?” 

“I want to know if you can cast it or not, and this is the only way. I’ll be fine. I promise,” Gwen assured her sister.

“Alright. I’ll try it right now…” Cassandra moved her chair so that she was directly facing Gwen. She stared directly into Gwen’s dark eyes, and focused. Cassandra held up her hands, which began to illuminate with a beautiful violet aura. 

Cassandra shook as the spell was very powerful and required all of her magicka, but she managed to hold it. “Gwen?” Cassandra asked in an attempt to see if the spell was working. There was no response, instead Gwen stared blankly at Cassandra. It’s working! Cassandra thought. Cassandra recalled that in Gwen’s book, she stated that the user of mind control could make their target do a certain act simply by willing it. Cassandra decided to try to make Gwen stand up. Cassandra focused as hard as she could, and watched as Gwen slowly began to stand from her seat. Cassandra tried as hard as she could to hold the spell as she felt it fading away, but Cassandra’s exhaustion got the best of her as she suddenly fell from her chair and collapsed onto the floor.

As she lied on the floor panting, she watched Gwen crash to the ground next. At first, Cassandra thought Gwen was only unconscious, until she noticed that Gwen was not breathing either. Cassandra dragged herself over and let out a panicked cry, “Gwen! Gwen! Can you hear me!?” Cassandra began to violently shake Gwen in an attempt to wake her. Cassandra took a deep breath to calm herself. I’m a healer, I can save her, Cassandra had to tell herself in her head. 

Cassandra checked Gwen’s pulse next, and felt nothing. She pulled her sword from her scabbard and sliced Gwen’s dress open at her chest, so that she could feel if there was a heartbeat. She threw her blade aside and pressed her ear to Gwen’s chest— no heartbeat. Cassandra hit a sudden realization, Something must have happened to her brain! Cassandra thought that Gwen’s brain may have shut down due to the spell, but she only had no idea how to treat something like this. She placed her hands on Gwen’s head and attempted to heal her brain through her head, but there was no effect. Cassandra knew she had to hurry; she had spent almost a minute trying to figure out what to do. Maybe pain will get the brain working again, Cassandra thought before she took her sword and cut Gwen’s arm. There was still no response. Cassandra threw her sword in frustration and ran her fingers through her hair. She could not lose her sister. Cassandra had one last idea. As a child, she had heard tales of mages reanimating corpses with lightning. Cassandra knew this could kill Gwen, but it also might be the only chance of saving her before her body deteriorated. Cassandra placed her hands on Gwen’s head again, and suddenly casted sparks through her palms. 

Only a few moments after the sparks began, Gwen’s body began convulsing vigorously. Cassandra quickly pulled her hands away from Gwen’s head, and almost instantly Gwen’s body ceased moving. Cassandra felt Gwen’s heart again, and there was still no heartbeat. “Damn it, Gwen! Don’t die!” Cassandra shouted suddenly as she placed her hands back on her sister’s head and sent sparks out again. Gwen’s body began shaking again. Gwen’s limbs all spasmed wildly, saliva began to foam from her mouth, and her eyes shifted quickly. “Gwen please!” Cassandra sobbed loudly as she stopped the sparks again. Gwen’s body convulsed a few moments after the sparks stopped this time, but there was still no heartbeat. Cassandra let out an angry, frustrated scream. She roughly gripped Gwen’s head and let out the most powerful sparks she could muster with her diminished magicka. Cassandra watched and cried as Gwen’s body rigorously shook. Cassandra held the sparks as long as she could— which was only for a few seconds —before suddenly falling onto her side next to Gwen. 

Cassandra struggled to breathe due to all of her crying. She had no more magicka left in her. There was nothing else she could do. She slowly lifted her hand to feel Gwen’s chest, in hopes she would feel some heartbeat; she felt nothing. Cassandra screamed angrily. She lost Gwen. She did not just lose Gwen; she killed Gwen. At least that is what she thought, until she felt a faint pound in Gwen’s chest. Cassandra lifted her head at the sudden pound. A few moments later, there was another pound. Cassandra dragged her head onto Gwen’s chest, and heard another heartbeat. Then another. Then another. And soon the heartbeats were going at a steady pace. Cassandra could hardly believe it. She did not think it was true, until she felt Gwen’s chest raise and lower. Cassandra lifted herself off of Gwen’s chest and looked at Gwen’s face. Cassandra held her hand under Gwen’s nose, and let out a heavy sigh of relief as she felt hot air being pushed out. Cassandra buried her face back into Gwen’s chest as she continued to sob. They were not quite tears of joy, but just tears. Tears of anger, joy, frustration, and all of the other muddled emotions she was feeling.


	12. Chapter 12

Cassandra kept her head rested on Gwen’s chest for a few minutes, until Gwen gasped loudly. Cassandra sat up off of Gwen, and Gwen sat up quickly. “Gwen?!” Cassandra asked as she watched her sister stare forward and breathe heavily. 

“Cassandra!” Gwen quickly looked at Cassandra. Gwen’s eyes were wide and her body was shivering. “What happened…? My head hurts so bad…”

Before Cassandra could answer, she realized that both sides of Gwen’s head were somewhat burnt from the sparks. “You… Died,” Cassandra uttered before she suddenly wrapped her arms around Gwen and held her tightly.

“Died…?” Gwen did not even put her arms back around Cassandra. “How do you know? How did you bring me back?!” Gwen frantically asked. “I should write this down! You have to tell me everything!” Gwen continued in a panic. 

Cassandra slowly let go of Gwen. “I almost lost you, Gwen…” She sniffled and rubbed her eyes.

“Of course…” Gwen took a deep breath and hugged Cassandra. “Thank you,” Gwen said calmly. 

The two eventually regained their composure, and sat back down at the table. Gwen wrote some notes down in the book as she said, “That side effect was unplanned, but I should’ve suspected it.”

“What does that mean?” Cassandra asked, though she did not want to relive that moment again. 

“The spell involves repressing the target’s brain, and making a one way connection from the user’s brain to the target’s. I just figured that after the spell was broken, the brain would restore itself.” Gwen set down the book and rubbed the side of her head, letting out a yelp of pain as she made contact with the burn. 

“I used sparks to bring you back to life. That’s what those burns are from.” The hair on the sides of Gwen’s head were charred and ruined, and there were multiple splotches of burns on the sides of her scalp. “Come here and let me heal you,” Cassandra motioned for Gwen to move closer. Gwen leaned forward, and allowed Cassandra to heal the sides of her head.

Gwen slowly pulled her head away after Cassandra was finished, and tried to cover the sides of her head with whatever hair was left. “I’m going to have to go get my hair cut tomorrow…” Gwen sighed, and then looked down at her dress which now had a large hole in it. “And throw out this dress.”

“That’s what you’re worried about?” Cassandra let out a slight chuckle. 

“I’m actually trying to remember what it was like… Being dead.” Gwen rubbed her chin.

“What do you remember?” Cassandra asked.

“Nothing… That can’t be what death is. It can’t be nothingness,” Gwen asserted, though it seemed she was trying to convince herself more than Cassandra. “Anyways… You managed to cast the spell,” Gwen said with some excitement.

“So?” Cassandra was not exactly proud of almost killing Gwen.

“It’s amazing! Do you know how much magicka that spell probably takes to cast?”

Cassandra let out a little smile. “I guess it was kinda cool.”

“Yeah.” Gwen smiled back at her. 

“You know, there is something else that I taught myself to do too,” Cassandra spoke proudly.

“Oh? What’s that?” Gwen inquired curiously. 

“I learned this to make up for my arm,” Cassandra explained, before turning her head away from Gwen and suddenly blowing out flames into the air through her mouth. 

Gwen let out an excited gasp at the display. “So you not only know how to revive the dead, but you can conjure magic from your mouth too?” Gwen giggled.

“I guess so. Although you could say I learned both of those things under duress.” Cassandra’s smile faded, as the magic reminded her of her time captured. “I had to learn how to conjure flames like that when I was captured. It’s really the only reason I escaped.”

“Oh…” Gwen nodded her head and looked down at the table as she continued, “Cassandra, I’ve been trying to suspend my curiosity, and not ask you what happened in Skyrim, but it is difficult…”

“I know.” Cassandra sighed. “I hate to think about it, and relive it. Tomorrow, when all of our sisters are together, I’ll tell all of you what happened.” 

“Okay.” Gwen stood up from her seat and yawned. “I think it’s time for me to sleep.” 

“Me too. Where will I be sleeping?” Cassandra asked as she stood, and then yawned as well.

“I moved a bed into that room.” Gwen pointed to a door across the room. “I sleep in the basement. If you need anything, please knock and I’ll come up. I usually lock the basement. It’s just got a lot of my possessions, you know?”

“Yeah,” Cassandra answered dismissively. “Goodnight, Gwen.” 

The two hugged once more, and they both left to their rooms. As Cassandra laid on her bed in total darkness, she could not get the thoughts of Fort Dunstad out of her head. Every time she closed her eyes, she was back in the room. The freezing cold room. She felt the pain of her arm constantly being held upwards. She felt her stomach being as empty and barren as Skyrim’s wastelands, and her throat as dry as the deserts of Hammerfell. She felt her hopelessness, and the thought of no escape. Worst of all, she could see her comrades— Hildar, Jenida, and Greld —still in their prisons; left alive but on the brink of death every moment. Forced to face the torture of endless hunger and thirst. In a way, Cassandra hoped they were dead and free in the afterlife, but she knew it was not so. She could see Jenida, mad and insane, perhaps fallen into some sick infatuation with her captors. 

It was a long night for Cassandra. The horrid thoughts hardly let her sleep. Cassandra thought she might never be able to sleep that night, until she suddenly awoke the next morning. Sunlight was feeding into the room through a window above her bed. Cassandra groaned as she shifted in her bed; her entire body ached. All of Cassandra’s recent traveling— and excitement of the previous day —were taking a toll on her already damaged body. 

Cassandra managed to pull herself out of bed. She sat at bedside, and pulled her left arm out of its sling. She spent a few minutes healing and cleaning her arm, hoping to keep it clean from any infections. She got dressed, rewrapped her arm, and left the room. The school was empty, and Gwen was nowhere to be found. Cassandra wondered what time of day it was. 

Cassandra walked over to the door that led to the basement, and was about to knock until there was a knock at the front door of the school. Cassandra instead walked over to the door, and opened it.

“O-Oh!” Emeline flinched as the door opened. “Good morning, Cassandra,” Emeline said quietly.

Cassandra noticed Emeline looked exhausted this morning. Emeline’s eyes looked particularly tired; her eyes were bloodshot, and the skin under her eyes was a dark purple that stood out against her pale skin. “Good morning. Are you feeling well?”

“I am. It was just a very long night.” Emeline was holding a satchel that appeared to be packed full. “Is Gwenevieve here?” 

“I think so. She might just still be sleeping. Come in,” Cassandra answered as she stood aside and let Emeline in. 

As Emeline stepped inside, the door to the basement opened and Gwen stepped out. “Hey, Emeline,” Gwen said with a yawn. “I’ve got a lot to share with you.”

“As do I.” Emeline walked over to the basement door, and quickly hurried through it. 

“Good morning, Cassandra.” Gwen smiled at Cassandra, and Cassandra noticed Gwen also appeared quite tired. “Emeline and I have some important matters to attend to. Why don’t you go to Emeline’s house? It’s about three houses down, right next to a large oak tree. You can meet her husband, and I’m sure he can get you some breakfast. I’ll be by there soon, and we’ll go to get my haircut together.” Before Cassandra even had a chance to object or ask questions, Gwen closed the basement door. 

Some sisters! Excluding me out of whatever secret they have, Cassandra thought in spite. She tried to dismiss it as she fastened her sword around her waist, and left the school for Emeline’s house. It was still quite early in the morning; it appeared as if the sun had just cleared the horizon, and the streets of Chorrol had only a couple guards patrolling. Cassandra approached the house she believed to be Emeline’s— a quaint two story home —and knocked on the door. 

“Hold on!” a male voice with a heavy, raspy Dunmer accent came from inside. The door opened a few seconds later, and a Dunmer stood at the door. His long, thick hair was a dark burgundy color and flowed down past his shoulders. The same colored stubble covered his chin and cheeks. He stood at about Cassandra’s height, and had glowing red eyes. However, one feature in particular drew Cassandra’s immediate attention; the tip of the Dunmer’s right ear appeared to have been bitten or torn off. “Hello, sera?” the Dunmer’s greeting cut off Cassandra’s brief examination.

“Hello, I’m Cassandra. Are you Emeline’s husband?”

“I am. Silvayth Aryn is the name,” the Dunmer grinned as he answered proudly. “Are you here for some Ashlander’s Tonic?” 

“No, I’m sorry.” Cassandra chuckled at her failed introduction. “I’m Cassandra Marie. Emeline’s sister?”

“Emeline’s sister?” Silvayth rubbed his chin and looked out at the sky in thought. “Which one? I was sure I’d met all of you!” Silvayth let out a laugh, as he stood aside and motioned for Cassandra to enter the house.

“The one that joined the Imperial Army. The one that’s been in Skyrim. I hope Emeline’s told you about me,” Cassandra spoke sarcastically, but it was a legitimate wonder as she entered Emeline’s home. 

“Ah!” Silvayth closed the door behind them. “She told me last night that you just got ‘ere! I’ve been waitin’ to meet you!” he spoke happily as he led Cassandra over to a couch. 

“I’ve been waiting to meet you too.” Cassandra smiled as she sat on the couch.”I was interested in seeing what kind of guy Emeline fell for.” 

“Ahaha!” the Dunmer let out a loud laugh. “I see. I see. I hope I’ll be up to your standards. Is there anythin’ I can get you? Tea? Coffee?” 

“I was hoping I could get some breakfast, and coffee would be nice too.” 

“Right away, sera!” The Dunmer quickly hopped out of the room. 

Cassandra could not help but giggle. Emeline married a guy like him? I guess opposites do attract! Cassandra thought.

Cassandra looked around the living room as she waited for her breakfast. The entire interior of the room was exotic, and unlike anything she had ever seen before. Ornate patterns covered the walls and carpet on the floor. Just the existence of a couch was unique, and the shelves were lined with strange flora, pottery, bottles, weapons, and armor. Cassandra stood up off the couch, and approached a shelf with an interesting helmet on it. The helmet appeared to be made out of some kind of large insect shell, and had two pieces of glass where one’s eyes would go that seemed to stare back at Cassandra. The glass on the right seemed to be cracked, and the helmet itself appeared to have some faded blood stains. 

“I hope you don’t mind cornbread!” Silvayth called out as he entered the room with two plates. 

“Oh,” Cassandra turned around quickly at the sound of his voice. “That’s no problem at all.” 

Silvayth set the plates down on a table in front of the couch. “Enjoying the Morrowind artifacts?” The Dunmer walked over to Cassandra now.

“This is all from Morrowind?” Cassandra asked as she looked back at the shelves. 

“Yeah! Things that Emeline and I have brought back from the homeland.” The Dunmer put his hands on his hips as he admired all of his stuff.

“Was this helmet yours?” Cassandra asked as she motioned to the insect-like helmet. 

“That old thing?” Silvayth chuckled as he grabbed the helmet off of the shelf, and stared down at it. There were a few moments of silence. Cassandra watched the Dunmer stare longingly at the helmet; he wore a grin as he looked it over. “Just something I picked up for a few coins,” Silvayth answered as he set the helmet back onto the shelf. Cassandra found it odd that he disregarded the helmet after that intimate moment with it. “The coffee will be done in a bit,” Silvayth spoke while walking away into another room. “Would you mind if I slipped a little bit of my Ashlander’s Tonic in it?” he added after he was in the other room. 

“What is that?” Cassandra asked as she sat down on the couch again, and took a bite of the sweet, fluffy cornbread. 

“It’s a special concoction Emeline and I whipped up together usin’ special ingredients from Morrowind like Resin, and Corkbulb roots, and some ingredients you’d typically find in health potions and potions for curin’ disease. It’s a sweet drink that goes down easy, and will also leave you feelin’ so refreshed,” Silvayth gave his description as he walked back into the room with two cups, a pot, and a bottle of a yellow liquid all on a platter. He set down the platter, and poured a generous amount of the yellow liquid into his cup before pouring coffee into it. “I recommend you try it. I put it in tea, coffee, and as a dressin’ or sauce on any meal!”

“Sure. I’ll take some.” Cassandra watched as Silvayth made her coffee. She took it from him, and took a sip. “Mmm!” Cassandra voiced her satisfaction. The Ashlander’s Tonic tasted almost like honey, and made the coffee sweet and flavorful.

“Good, right?” Silvayth chuckled. “I sell that stuff down here to support my family back home. It usually does well, but it hasn’t sold so well this year.” This was the first time Cassandra heard Silvayth sound not happy so far. 

“I’m sure things will pick up.” Cassandra gave an encouraging smile. 

“I’m sure they will, sera.” Silvayth smiled back. 

“Do you and Emeline visit Morrowind often?” Cassandra asked before biting into her cornbread.

“Aye. A few times a year we make the trip,” Silvayth spoke with his mouth full. “We’re actually due for a trip there soon.” He wiped his mouth with his sleeve. Before the conversation could continue, the front door opened and Gwenevieve and Emeline entered the living room. Silvayth stood up quickly, and hugged his wife. “Well, that was a short session today, love.”

“Mhm.” Emeline nodded, and kissed the Dunmer’s cheek.

They broke their embrace, as Silvayth looked at Gwen and suddenly exclaimed, “B’vehk! What happened to your hair?”

Gwen sighed, and unsuccessfully, tried to move her damaged, splotchy hair behind her ears. “An experiment gone wrong. I’m going to go get my hair cut right now. Are you coming, Cassandra?” 

“Yeah.” Cassandra quickly downed her coffee, and stuffed the cornbread in her mouth. “Have you tried that tonic stuff? It’s really good!” Cassandra exclaimed with her mouth full as she walked over to Gwen. 

“It’s good until your sister bothers you to buy some all the time,” Gwen teased, which elicited frowns from the couple in the room. “Will we be seeing you two tonight at the farm?” Gwen asked.

“Of course! I love family gatherings!” Silvayth spoke exuberantly. 

“Good. Farewell, you two,” Gwen said before beginning to leave the house.

“Bye. It was nice meeting you!” Cassandra smiled at Silvayth.

“Indeed! Stop by anytime, sister!” Silvayth chuckled. 

With that, Cassandra and Gwen both left the house, and took to the streets of Chorrol.


	13. Chapter 13

“Is Chorrol always this empty in the morning nowadays?” Cassandra asked, as she could only spot about a dozen people compared to the hundreds of yesterday.

“No, it’s a little strange. Hopefully Cortia is at her shop today.” Gwen looked around at the bleak city. 

“Cortia?” 

“The woman that does hair.” Gwen pointed at a group of buildings. “Sheers for Chevaliers.” One of the signs read that phrase, and had a drawing of sheers on it. 

The two entered the shop, and Cassandra noticed a plump, fair-skinned woman sitting across the room. The woman seemed to be admiring her hair in a mirror— a large bush of curly hair unlike any hairstyle Cassandra had ever seen before—before turning around and exclaiming ecstatically, “Gwenevieve! Why, hello, darling!” This woman’s voice was high and bubbly. 

“Hello, Cortia.” Gwen stepped further into the small building and sat down in an ornate chair in the center of the room. “This is Cassandra. My sister in the Legion.” 

“Oh! Cassandra! It’s so nice to meet you, love!” Cortia hopped out of her seat and scurried over to Cassandra. Cortia was a rather short woman, and her height only approached Cassandra’s bust due to her large, bouncy curls. 

“It’s nice to meet you too.” Cassandra smiled and nodded at her.

Cortia smiled widely and happily shimmied, before she turned to face Gwen. “So, honey, care to tell me what you’ve done to your hair to make it such a mess?” Cortia’s outfit and makeup was as unorthodox as her hair. Cortia had full, vibrant red lipsticks. Her eyeshadow was also a deep red, and blush covered her cheeks. Cortia wore a striped corset, which Cassandra assumed hid much of her stomach as her breasts looked ready to bust out of her top. Her wide hips were covered by a frilly, white short skirt adorned with sparkles. She also wore striped socks that fit snugly around her thick thighs. Cassandra also noticed that Cortia had some sort of utility belt strapped around one of her thighs that held scissors, razors, and a few bottles of liquid. 

“I got shocked, and it ruined the sides of my hair,” Gwen spoke innocently. 

“Oh dear! You’re always gettin’ into such trouble!” Cortia exclaimed as she examined the sides of Gwen’s head. “You’re in luck, honey! I have the perfect hairstyle to fix this!” 

Cassandra sat down and watched Cortia go to work. Cortia completely shaved the both sides of Gwen’s head, while leaving the front and back intact. Next, the hair stylist flared the front of Gwen’s hair into a pompadour, and placed Gwen’s ponytail higher up on her head. 

“Perfect! You look lovely now!” Cortia jumped with excitement before handing Gwen a mirror. 

Gwen stared at her new hairstyle for a moment in the mirror. “It’s very… Interesting. Do you think it really fits me?” Gwen seemed a bit hesitant about her new look.

“Of course! You look beautiful!” Cortia shouted as she bounced around happily.

“It looks really nice, Gwen,” Cassandra tried to encourage her sister. While the hairstyle was pretty to Cassandra, she was not sure if it fit Gwen either. 

“Why don’t you let me spruce up your look too, Cassandra?” Cortia grinned, with her scissors and razor in hand. 

Cassandra gave a fake chuckle. “I really don’t need anything done…”

“Oh, please! I’m sure you’ve had that ponytail since you joined the army!” Cortia was not wrong. 

“Okay…” Cassandra gave in. What’s the worst that could happen? Cassandra thought. “Just don’t cut any off, please.”

“Whatever you say, darling!” Cortia hopped over to Cassandra, and began to work on her hair.

A few minutes later, Cortia finished and eagerly gave the mirror to Cassandra. Cassandra could not help but gasp at her hair. Cortia had braided Cassandra’s hair and wrapped the braids around her head. Cortia had also curled the rest of Cassandra’s hair into beautiful light brown locks. “I love it!” Cassandra smiled as she admired her hair. 

“Sometimes I amaze myself!” Cortia giggled as she held her hands on her hips, and rocked back and forth. 

Gwen paid Cortia, and asked her as they prepared to leave, “Have you noticed how empty Chorrol has been today?”

“Oh? You didn’t hear, hun? There’s a pretty bad illness goin’ around. Lots of folks are held up in bed,” Cortia answered as she began to wash her scissors. “My own hubby is sick in bed.”

“Do you know what kind of illness?” Gwen asked.

“Just some cold, I’m sure. It doesn’t look bad enough to hurt anybody.” Cortia shrugged.

“Okay. Thank you, Cortia. I’ll see you later.” Gwen began to walk out of the building. 

“Bye, Cortia. Thank you.” Cassandra followed Gwen out.

“Come back any time, darlings!” Cortia shouted as they both left. 

“I need to pay a visit to the Fighter’s Guild now. I’ve got to talk to the Guildmaster. I think you should try to socialize with some of the members of the Fighter’s Guild. They can be pretty useful if you’re ever in a bad situation,” Gwen explained as they approached the large Fighter’s Guild Hall in Chorrol. 

Once inside, Gwen quickly abandoned Cassandra as she hurried up the stairs. Cassandra stood around awkwardly, not knowing where she should and should not go. 

“Hello! Cassandra, was it?” Cassandra heard from behind her. She turned to find the knightly Macrinus approaching her.

“Yes,” Cassandra responded with a smile. 

“It’s nice to see you again.” Macrinus gently took Cassandra’s hand and kissed it. He sounded short of breath, and his messy hair gave off the impression he had just finished doing something vigorous. “Yvonne is in the training room. We’re holding a bit of a tournament. You’re welcome to come watch if you’re not busy.” 

Cassandra glanced up the stairs where Gwen had disappeared to before answering, “Sure. That sounds like fun.”

Macrinus led Cassandra through a few halls, until they approached two doors that emitted cheers and shouts from behind. Macrinus held open the door for Cassandra, and she stepped into the large room. Dozens of warriors clamored as they sat on the floor in a circle around two combatants. In the center of the circle, Yvonne was locked in combat with a Bosmer. They fought with blunt, wooden weapons. The Bosmer was armed with a staff, while Yvonne battled with a wooden club.

The fight did not last much longer after Cassandra entered the room, as Yvonne managed to disarm the Elf and beat him for a few moments to the ground. The crowd howled in excitement as Yvonne let out a war cry and stood above her battered foe. “I am your victor!” After her yelling, Yvonne made eye contact with Cassandra. “Cassie! Have you come to watch!?” Yvonne shouted with excitement. 

“I suppose so.” Cassandra stepped over to the circle, and waited for some of the warriors to make room for her to join. 

“Hey!” a blonde, female warrior with beaming blue eyes, presumably a Breton, in the circle shouted as she stood. “We have rules. You must fight to join the circle!” This garnered a few murmurs of support from the rest of the warriors. 

“I’ll fight in her place! And I’ll take you on first!” Yvonne growled as she pointed her club at the Breton woman.

“I can fight,” Cassandra spoke up before the Breton could respond. This got her some odd looks, and some chuckles from the warriors, but Cassandra did miss the occasional thrill of a fight.

“You’re injured, aren’t you, Cassandra?” Macrinus stepped into the conversation. “There is no shame in not wanting to fight injured. It is important to live to fight another day.” 

“I’ll be fine. I just need a weapon.” Cassandra took off the belt holding her sword and handed it to Macrinus. She then stepped up to her Redguard sister, and held her uninjured hand out. “May I?”

“Cassandra,” Yvonne leaned in close and spoke quietly, “You don’t have to fight. Bailey the Swift is a good fighter, and you can’t use magic here.” 

Cassandra had not even considered not being able to use magic. However, she felt it was too late to rescind the challenge now. “I can do it.” 

“Okay.” Yvonne nodded and gave her club to Cassandra. 

Bailey stood up, with a wooden mace in hand, and shouted, “I challenge the newcomer to a duel!” The woman was of average height like Cassandra, and was also lean like her. Her straight, bright blonde hair fell just above her shoulders, and her eyes were a blindingly bright blue. 

In response, Yvonne yelled, “The newcomer accepts the challenge! Does Bailey wish to wager!?”

“I wager one hundred septims! Can the newcomer match this wager!?”

Yvonne quickly looked to Cassandra now. “I can match that,” Cassandra answered plainly. For some reason, this response caused all of the warriors— including Yvonne —to laugh.

As Cassandra looked around confused, Yvonne leaned in and whispered, “You’re supposed to yell.”

“Oh.” Cassandra cleared her throat and shouted, a bit too loudly, “I can match that!” This still elicited laughs from the warriors. 

“Then let the battle begin!” Yvonne shouted as she quickly exited from the center of the circle. 

Without warning, Bailey lept towards Cassandra and bashed Cassandra’s stomach with her mace. Cassandra doubled over suddenly, and before she could even gather herself, Bailey brought her knee up into Cassandra’s face. The impact sent Cassandra into a group of warriors in the circle, who promptly shoved her face first back into the ground in the center of the circle. 

“A swift battle!” Bailey howled as she set her foot on the back of Cassandra’s head. Cassandra quickly pulled her head out from under Bailey’s foot, causing Bailey to stumble, before Cassandra suddenly swung her club into the side of Bailey’s knee. The blow caused Bailey to let out a loud cry and drop onto her side on the floor. Cassandra knew that the knee was a particularly weak spot of the body, and took advantage of that in her attack.

Cassandra took a deep breath as she climbed to her feet, still feeling the effects of the hits to her stomach and face. Bailey also rose slowly, obviously in pain as she gripped the side of her leg. The crowd of warriors were silent as Cassandra and Bailey stared each other down. The calm only lasted a few moments before Bailey let out a screech as she charged toward Cassandra. Cassandra managed to block Bailey’s swing, and then swung at Bailey’s hip. Bailey managed to block it, but only barely as Bailey was stumbling on her feet. 

Cassandra could tell that Bailey was just struggling to stand. It was time to end this fight. Cassandra stepped forward, hoping to draw an attack from Bailey. Bailey growled and swung for Cassandra’s injured arm. Cassandra was ready for this, as she spun to the side to avoid the attack. As soon as she finished her rotation, Cassandra took another hard swing at Bailey’s knee. A loud, sickening pop was heard as Cassandra’s club made impact with Bailey’s knee. The Breton fell to the ground and grasped her knee, all while crying out in pain. Her knee was now deformed as a bone had been knocked out of place.

The crowd was silent again. As Cassandra looked around, all she saw were wide eyes and open mouths. “Declare your victory,” Yvonne whispered loudly to Cassandra. 

Cassandra heard Yvonne, but did not listen. Instead, Cassandra’s eyes fell to the hurt, crying Bailey. The Breton dropped her club, and dropped to her knees in front of Bailey. “Y-You wench!” Bailey angrily shouted in between cries. Cassandra ignored the comment, and moved Bailey’s hand away from her knee. “What are you…?” Bailey began to say, until Cassandra placed her own hand on the knee and enveloped it in her healing aura. As Cassandra was healing the knee, she took a moment to push the knee hard back into place.

In just a minute, Bailey seemed relaxed and no longer in pain. Bailey spread out across the floor with a groan. “Not only do you beat me, but you heal me too? What a way to rub it in.” 

Cassandra smiled as Bailey seemed no longer in pain. She stood up and said, “I think I’ve won.” This caused the crowd of warriors to suddenly erupt in a mix of laughter and cheers. 

“Well, Cassie, you’re a better fighter than I made you out to be,” Yvonne exclaimed proudly. 

“Serving in Skyrim taught me a few things,” Cassandra responded as she helped Bailey up to her feet.

“You served in Skyrim’s Legion?” Bailey asked as she swept her short blonde hair out of her face. Cassandra nodded, and Bailey continued with a chuckle, “I guess that’s not as bad as losing to just another skinny girl.” Bailey offered her hand to Cassandra, and Cassandra shook it. “I’m Bailey Bruiant. Better known as Bailey the Swift.”

“Perhaps we’ll call you Bailey One-Knee now!” Yvonne suddenly exclaimed, garnering laughs.

Bailey huffed at Yvonne, before continuing to speak to Cassandra, “That was a good battle. I suppose I’m not as swift with one good knee. Let’s fight again sometime!” 

“For sure.” Cassandra was happy that Bailey was not bitter about losing. 

“Cassandra now holds two hundred septims! Is there any who wish to match the wager and challenge her!?” Yvonne shouted, which caught Cassandra by surprise. She was not sure if she wanted to participate in another fight.

“Gimme her.” A gruff voice came from the circle. “I few extra septims for the wife wouldn’t hurt.” Cassandra turned to see her next opponent. A large, sturdily built Nord with a long beard stood. Cassandra did not know why, but she did not like him.

“Iglund? Do not tear the girl apart, please.” Yvonne shook her head while giving a judging look to the Nord, which did not give Cassandra much confidence. 

The Nord stepped into the middle of the circle, with no weapon in hand. “No weapon?” Cassandra asked as she had to look up to Iglund, as he was several inches taller than her.

“Don’t need one,” he answered.

“Okay…” Cassandra lifted her club off of the floor, and stood ready. 

“Let the battle begin!” Yvonne shouted again, causing a small cheer from the warriors.

Cassandra and Iglund stared each other down for a few minutes. Cassandra was waiting for him to make the first move, but it was obvious he would not. Cassandra made the first move, and attempted to ring Iglund into action by feigning a swing with her club. Cassandra stopped about halfway into her swing, and Iglund still did not move. She tried this tactic again, and he did not move. She tried it once more, and still he did not move. Finally, she went in for an actual attack. She swung her club at Ignund’s face, and the Nord grabbed the club in midair and stopped it before it even made contact. Cassandra tried to pull the club free, but released it after it was obvious she could not overpower his grip. Before she could move away from Iglund, however, he suddenly stepped forward and grasped Cassandra around her neck. She struggled— and fought the urge to use magic —as she was lifted up and chokeslammed down hard into the ground just a few moments later.

Cassandra curled up and held the back of her head as she writhed around in pain, finding herself on the ground once again. The Nord let out a triumphant, “Hmph” and tossed the club onto the ground next to Cassandra. “Do you give up?” the Nord grumbled.

Cassandra took a deep breath and picked herself up defiantly. Before she could even get back onto both feet, Iglund leaned down and grabbed one of Cassandra’s feet and lifted her off of the ground by it. This caused Cassandra’s skirt to fly up and reveal her underwear, causing some male warriors to holler. Cassandra grew red with embarrassment, and suddenly sent her free foot into the face of the Nord. Although she could not see him from her position, she heard Iglund groan. The Nord then grasped her other foot and flung her across the room, over the circle of warriors, and into the wall. Cassandra hit the wall hard, and then dropped to the floor just as hard. 

This feat of strength caused the warriors to cheer, while Cassandra arched her back in pain as she lied on the floor. “Give up yet?” The Nord asked sternly as he slowly approached Cassandra across the room.

Cassandra was not ready to give up just yet. She fought off the pain, and used the wall to climb to her feet and await the Nord as he approached her. As the Nord inched closer, step-by-step, Cassandra noticed something disturbing. She had not noticed it before, but this Nord had almost the exact same build as her torturer in Skyrim. In fact, his beard was the same. His voice was the same. His face was the same. How is this possible? The room suddenly fell dark and silent. She was back. Back in her cell. She felt the cold, the hunger, and the hopelessness. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see her old chains dangling against the wall behind her. He was here to chain her back up. Here to make sure she would not escape again. 

Cassandra was ready to give up. Perhaps she could not escape her fate. She started to cry, and collapse against the wall. Suddenly, Cassandra noticed something beneath her. It was her sword! She lifted it up quickly, and stood on her feet. She gripped her sword as tightly as she could, and waited for the Nord to come closer. This bastard was not getting her again. As soon as the Nord was within striking distance, Cassandra turned and jumped off of the wall, propelling herself in the air towards him. The Nord caught Cassandra with both hands by her waist, leaving her weapon free. Instantly, Cassandra began wildly beating the Nord’s head with her sword. She growled in frustration as the sword would not pierce through his face, but only bounce off as if it was a blunt object. 

Nevertheless, the constant barrage of strikes to the face caused the Nord to drop Cassandra and shield his face. She was not done. Cassandra suddenly kicked the Nord in his crotch with as much force as she could muster, causing him to shield that area instinctively. Once his face was exposed again, Cassandra swung her sword at his face with all of her strength. This caused the Nord to finally drop to his knees. “Not again! Never again!” Cassandra screamed as she continued to mercilessly pummel and beat the Nord’s face. She must have swung at his face a hundred times, only getting more and more angry as the sword would not slice through him. 

The Nord began to cry and beg for mercy, but Cassandra would not listen. He would never have stopped torturing her if she cried for mercy. Suddenly, Cassandra’s sword was taken away by some invisible source, and then she was tackled to the ground. She did not struggle, as the collision with floor suddenly brought her back into reality.


	14. Chapter 14

“Cassandra! What is wrong with you!?” Yvonne shouted as she held Cassandra down on the ground.

“Yvonne… What did…” Cassandra was confused and groggy from her experience. 

“Cassandra! You stop when we say stop!” Yvonne yelled at her.

Cassandra finally realized what had happened when she saw a few warriors huddled around Iglund. She could see his face, but just hardly. His face was a bloody, beaten mess. Just by glancing at him in his pained state, Cassandra could tell that his nose was broken, multiple teeth had been shattered, and his skull was dented and surely fractured. 

“Let me up!” Cassandra shouted suddenly as she struggled. “I can help him!” 

“You aren’t going near him!” Yvonne kept her held down. 

“Please!” Cassandra begged. “He can die from that much blood loss!” Yvonne finally relented, and let her sister go free. Cassandra hurried over to Iglund, and pushed a few warriors out of the way when they attempted to stop her. “I need bandages now!” Cassandra yelled as she began healing Iglund’s face. She saw that his skull had been cracked open, and that multiple skull fragments needed to be removed immediately. “I need tongs! And they need to be hot and sterilized!” Cassandra continued shouting out demands, not sure if anyone was actually listening to them. She focused her healing aura on the cracked part of the skull, where some brain was visible. 

Soon, Bailey sprinted into the room and over to Cassandra and set the bandages and tongs down next to her. “Thank you,” Cassandra uttered as she quickly grabbed the tongs. “I’m going to need someone strong to hold him down! He might die if he moves while I’m doing this!” Some warriors, Macrinus and Yvonne included, rushed over to hold Iglund still. Cassandra took a deep breath, and focused as she began to remove skull fragments that were stuck in Iglund’s brain. The Nord warrior did manage to move slightly, causing Cassandra to shout, “Hold him!”

It was hard for Cassandra herself to stay steady during the impromptu surgery. Her head was pounding from the multiple hits she took, and her arm felt incredibly sore after bashing Iglund so many times. She had to ignore it however, because she would not let this man die. In a few minutes, Cassandra managed to clear every skull fragment she could find. She tried healing the damaged area once more, before beginning to apply the bandages. 

As Cassandra began wrapping Iglund’s head in bandages, she could hear Gwenevieve exclaim behind her, “Cassandra! What happened!?” 

Cassandra also heard a rough, Orc male voice simultaneously say, “Yvonne! I told you no one better get killed doing these damned tournaments!”

“It isn’t my fault!” Yvonne shouted in her defense. “It was my… Well…”

Before Cassandra could continue listening to that conversation, Gwen now kneeled at Cassandra’s side and asked in a harsh tone, “Cassandra. What did you do?”

Cassandra ignored the question as she finished the bandages, and stood up. “He needs to be taken to the chapel! Or wherever the seriously wounded go!” Cassandra spoke audibly enough for the whole room to hear.

The Orsimer— who was in the middle of a heated argument with Yvonne —turned to Cassandra and asked her, “Are you the one who did this to him?” 

“Didn’t you hear me!? He needs to be taken for more medical attention!” Cassandra yelled in response. She was trying to avoid the question. She still was not entirely sure of what had just happened. 

“Cassandra!” Gwen stood and set her arm on Cassandra’s shoulder. “I’ll take care of him. You did a fine job patching him up,” Gwen spoke calmly to her distressed sister. “Can someone please quickly, and gently, carry him to the chapel for now,” she asked, and a few warriors in the room began to carry Iglund away.

Cassandra’s breaths were heavy as she looked at the tall, strong Orsimer in front of her. He wore gallant, Orcish armor, and she could only assume he was the guildmaster. “Take me to the guards if you must. I accept responsibility for this,” Cassandra said bluntly, as she wiped some blood off of her face.

The Orc put his hands on his hips and sighed. “No need for that. Iglund is a warrior through and through. As long as it was a fair fight, there’ll be no punishment,” the Orc spoke rather calmly also. “I want to know what happened.”

Cassandra shook her head as she answered, “I don’t know…”

“You don’t—” 

“It’s hard to explain,” Cassandra quickly cut off the Orc. Cassandra thought she knew what happened, but it would be impossible to explain. 

“Logrun,” Gwen spoke up, “Let me talk to my sister about it alone for a moment.”

Logrun nodded. “Fine. Yvonne, tell me what exactly happened please?”

As Gwen led Cassandra out of the room, Cassandra heard Yvonne begin to explain, “Well, Iglund was beating my sis pretty bad. I guess she just got frustrated and lost it. She attacked him like she wanted to kill him. She must have hit him in his face about thirty times before we were able to stop her. My sis isn’t normally like that…” Before Cassandra could hear the end, Gwen led her into another room and closed the door.

“Well?” Gwen sat on one of the many beds in the dimly lit room. Cassandra did not answer; instead, she crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. “Cassandra. Please. I heard what you did. Why? I’ve never known you to be one to just lose it.” 

Cassandra angrily buried her face into her hands and squeezed her head. “Fine!” she shouted suddenly. “When I was fighting him, he… he…” she struggled to get the words out as she tried not reliving the memory. “He turned into someone else. Someone terrible.” 

“Who?” 

Cassandra slowly sank against the wall until she was sitting on the floor. “When I was in Skyrim, I got captured. I was a prisoner of war. That’s why I look like a skinny, emaciated mess. I went without food and water for weeks. I was left naked in the freezing cold. And I had one torturer. He was a Nord. He doesn’t even really resemble the man I just fought, but when he had me cornered, he turned into my torturer. The room turned into my cell. I could think of nothing else but killing that man. I wouldn’t let him chain me up again.” Cassandra stared blankly at the floor during her entire explanation.

“Cassandra, I had no idea… I’m so sorry.” Gwen climbed off of the bed, and sat next to her sister. She wrapped her arms around Cassandra and hugged her tightly. “Have you had any other moments like this?” Gwen asked hesitantly. 

“Not really. Only nightmares…” Cassandra laid her head on Gwen’s shoulder. 

“I know this might sound odd, but I think you should visit Amaya.” This prompted Cassandra to lift her head and give Gwen a confused look. “I know Yvonne called her just a prostitute yesterday, but she really is a therapist and knows a lot about psychiatry and psychology. Most of the few interactions I’ve had with her since she returned were about looking for research and information on therapy and psychiatry.”

“Didn’t you say yourself that she was unstable?” Cassandra was unsure if Amaya could help her, after seeing that Amaya may have had some mental issues of her own the previous day. 

“I think the reason she got into that kind of research was to try to fix her own mind after… whatever she faced while she was gone. But she never told me why she wanted books in those fields, and never asked for my help outside of finding the books.” 

“Okay. I’ll take your advice.” Cassandra nodded. “Now what about that Nord…? What if he dies?”

Gwen stood up, and helped Cassandra to her feet. “Logrun is a very sensible guildmaster. He will not press any charges on you. Besides, he won’t die if I can help it. I’ll head to the chapel immediately.”

“Isn’t it Morndas? Does the school not have classes today?” Cassandra asked as she brushed herself off. 

“I have an assistant. She can handle the classes on her own. She’s actually a former student of yours, I believe,” Gwen answered as she opened the door to leave the room. 

“Oh really? Maybe I should visit her today.” The two stepped back into the training room, where everyone was gone except for Yvonne, Bailey, and Logrun. 

“Logrun, I hope you can excuse Cassandra for her actions,” Gwen said as she stepped over to the Orsimer. 

“Do you care to explain yourself?” Logrun asked Cassandra.

Cassandra cleared her throat. “I want to apologize for what happened. I think that I had a hallucination of sorts that stems from a time when I was a prisoner of war in Skyrim…” Cassandra continued on and briefly explained the situation. 

“I have seen many warriors suffer from fits like that. I suppose everything is alright.” Logrun turned to Gwen and said, “Keep me updated on Iglund’s health. We’ll have to continue our talk another time.” Gwen nodded in agreement. “Bailey, please escort our guests out of the building. Yvonne, we need to speak about these tournaments.” Yvonne rolled her eyes as she walked away with Logrun. 

“C’mon girls,” Bailey said as she began walking. Gwen and Cassandra followed her until she stopped them just outside of the building. “Here you go.” Bailey held out a bag of coins to Cassandra. “You earned this.”

“Bailey, I don’t want your coin. I only fought to prove that I could do it.” Cassandra smiled and pushed the bag back towards Bailey.

“Are you sure?” Bailey asked skeptically as she began to pull the coin away.

“I am.”

“Okay…” Bailey then rubbed the side of her leg. “Hey, I was wondering, is my knee going to be alright? It still hurts some…” 

“I knocked it out of place, but I fixed it too. It’ll be sore for a few days, but you’ll be back to your swift self after that.” Cassandra smiled at her.

“Okay. I guess I can live with that. Thanks!” Bailey returned the smile, and walked back into the Fighter’s Guild Building. 

“Well, I should get to the chapel.” Gwen hugged Cassandra. “If things don’t work out with Amaya, come find me.” 

“I will,” Cassandra assured her sister, before they split and went their separate ways. 

Cassandra felt guilty about not helping Gwen with treating Iglund, but she felt it would be best for someone else to take care of him. She was eager to get to see Amaya again, but also anxious due to their last encounter. As Cassandra made her way to Amaya’s house, she noticed that even though it must have been past noon, the streets of Chorrol were still mostly empty. Perhaps more people were sick than she originally thought. She did not think about that topic for long, as she soon approached Amaya’s door and knocked on it.

“Who is it? Are you here to schedule an appointment?” Cassandra heard Amaya shout from inside of the small home.

“It’s Cassandra.” That’s all Cassandra had to say before the door opened. 

“Hey,” Amaya said as she opened the door.

“Hey,” Cassandra replied. This was the way they often used to greet each other.

“Cassandra, your lip is busted.” Amaya stepped close and rubbed Cassandra’s bottom lip. 

“Really?” Cassandra had felt the pain, but she ignored it like she did with the rest of the minor injuries she got from the fights. 

“And you’ve got fresh blood on your neck. And bruises.” Amaya sighed, and looked at Cassandra disapprovingly. “Have you been fighting?” 

“I was at the Fighter’s Guild just now. I did a couple training fights with the other members.” Cassandra was surprised by Amaya’s motherly tone, but it made sense for an actual mother to act this way.

“Ugh,” Amaya let out a groan of disgust. “Did you let Yvonne get you into that?”

“Sort of,” Cassandra answered as Amaya let her into the house. “I actually wanted to talk to you about that.” 

“About what?” Amaya questioned as she sat down at her table. A book was open at the table that she seemed to have been making notes in. “Yvonne being a bad influence?” Amaya chuckled. 

“No. I had an experience today. I think it’s related to some trauma I suffered in Skyrim.” Amaya’s interest seemed to be piqued by this as her eyes widened. “Gwen told me you had some knowledge in this kind of thing, so I was hoping you could help me somehow.” 

“Of course.” Amaya seemed surprised by Cassandra’s story. “I handle trauma victims all the time. I need more details though.”

Cassandra nodded, and told Amaya what had happened at the Fighter’s Guild.

“That’s pretty serious,” Amaya said in response to the story. At this point, Amaya was writing notes in a journal. “I think we should have a full session. Which usually takes a few hours. I often like to take my clients to a spring in the Great Forest. It has some natural healing properties and helps people relax as they have to relive some terrible memories.” Amaya paused briefly. “I don’t know if that’s something you wanted to do?”

“Whatever will help me,” Cassandra replied with a smile.

“Do you have the next… about three hours free?” Amaya asked as she began to gather various items into a bag.

“I do. I don’t have anything to do until our family dinner tonight.”

“Family dinner?” Amaya questioned.

“Oh!” In all of the commotion yesterday, Cassandra had forgotten to tell Amaya about the dinner. “Yes, we’re getting all of our sisters together tonight at the farm for dinner.”

“And I’m invited? That’s a laugh,” Amaya rolled her eyes and spoke dismissively. 

“You are invited. I want all of us there together,” Cassandra spoke sternly.

“Maybe you haven’t noticed yet, but half of our sisters don’t even want me around. You think I want to deal with their glares all damn night?” Amaya replied bitterly as she stepped to her front door, and motioned for Cassandra to follow. 

“Please just think about it?” Cassandra pleaded. 

“Fine. No promises.” Amaya groaned as the two left the house, and began to walk towards the forest.

“Where is Lucille?” Cassandra asked; she had noticed the little girl was not around right away. 

“School. I want her to know magic too.” 

Cassandra smiled. “I’m glad.”

Amaya led Cassandra down a familiar path; the same way she went to visit Camille yesterday. This time, Camille was basking in the sun, using her large wolf companion as a pillow. 

“Hello, sisters,” Camille said with a yawn; her eyes still closed.

“Hey, Camille. We need to use the spring.” Amaya walked up to the two lying in the grass, and gently petted Serene’s head.

“Very well.” Camille sat up, and stretched by reaching for her toes before popping up to her feet. 

“Usually, you let me know in advance. Was this impromptu?” Camille smiled at her sisters.

“Yes, I’m having a session with Cassandra,” Amaya answered as Camille led the two deeper into the forest, with Serene following behind them. 

“Okay. I will ask the spriggans to leave the spring this time since they are unfamiliar with you, Cassandra,” Camille glanced back at Cassandra as she spoke. 

“Spriggans?” Cassandra questioned. 

Camille had no need to answer the question, as the four traveled through some heavy brush and into a beautiful, hidden grove with a spring in the center surrounding a large, graceful tree. The grove was surrounded by trees and brush, and housed hundreds of vividly colored flowers and butterflies fluttering about. Four spriggans also inhabited the grove, and they all turned to look at the group. Camille turned to the largest spriggan of the group, and slowly bowed her head to it. Without lifting her head, Camille motioned to Cassandra and Amaya. In that same motion, Camille pointed to the spring in front of her. 

The large spriggan bowed its head to Camille, and the four spriggans left the grove together. “The spring is yours. I’ll let you two have your privacy, but I’ll stay close by. Just call out when you’re ready to leave,” Camille spoke happily as she headed out of the grove.

“Thank you,” Amaya said as she began to pull off her dress. 

“Thanks.” Cassandra smiled at Camille as she left with Serene. Cassandra then turned to the disrobing Amaya. She could not help but look as Amaya got completely nude.

“Same old Cassandra.” Amaya giggled as she stepped into the water.

Cassandra’s face became red at the comment. She had not even noticed Amaya noticed her staring. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Cassandra sarcastically acted offended as she stripped off her own clothes. Cassandra unwrapped her injured arm also, and hoped that the spring water would have some positive effect on her poor arm. 

“I mean that I’m glad you’re still your perverted old self.” Amaya giggled and stuck her tongue out at her Cassandra. 

“Perverted!? Whatever!” Cassandra giggled and splashed Amaya a little. 

“Hey! Don’t splash me!” Amaya laughed and splashed Cassandra back. 

The two laughed as they continued splashing each other, until Serene suddenly poked her head out from behind a bush and barked at the two. The girls stopped, and took that as a warning that they needed to be quieter in such a tranquil area. The wolf disappeared again as soon as they ceased their splashing. 

“Okay, I suppose we should get down to work,” Amaya relaxed in the water as she spoke. The spring was so deep that the water creeped up to the girls’ necks. “I need you to tell me everything. Tell me everything that is linked to these nightmares and experiences you’ve had.”

Cassandra told Amaya everything she could about her time imprisoned in Skyrim. Every painful detail. Every agonizing moment she could remember. Never before was she able to think about it without completely breaking down, or suppressing many of the more hurtful memories. Cassandra wondered if it was the tranquil spring, or the company of Amaya that made her feel so comfortable. 

“With an experience like that, it’s no wonder you’ve had hallucinations.” These were Amaya’s first words after Cassandra’s story. Cassandra was surprised that Amaya did not give any form of condolence. “It seems like Nords, particularly large, strong Nords, may be a trigger for your trauma.”

“I’ve seen other Nords, and had no issues with them.” Cassandra defended herself, because it seemed to her that Amaya was calling her prejudice. 

“But I bet you didn’t interact in those Nords the way you did with the one at the Fighter’s Guild. You were cornered, weren’t you? Already beaten, battered, and weak?” 

“I guess so…” Cassandra sank into the water a bit.

“The only way that I know of to break these hallucinations is to expose yourself to what triggers them. You should…” Amaya paused and sucked her teeth. “If the Nord lives, of course, spend some time with him if he’ll allow it. Fight him some more times once he heals. Perhaps defeating him enough will defeat your fears,” Amaya suggested. 

“Do you really think that’ll work?” Cassandra questioned.

“It worked for me,” Amaya turned away from Cassandra now as she spoke. 

“What…” Cassandra did not know if it was a good idea to ask this question. “What triggered you?” 

Amaya turned her head to glance at Cassandra. She looked away again before she answered lowly, “Men.” 

“Men?” Cassandra asked as she slowly approached Amaya until they were only a foot apart. “All men?”

“Every single one,” Amaya spoke coldly as she still did not look at Cassandra, “Their damn voices. Their damn bodies. Their damn primal instincts. They’re such animals.” 

Cassandra wondered why Amaya held so much resentment towards men. “But don’t you…” Cassandra did not even want to get the words out. “...Service men?”

Amaya chuckled as she finally turned to look at Cassandra. “So that’s what our sisters told?” Cassandra could not answer before Amaya continued, “Yeah, I fuck my clients every once and awhile for some extra coin. So what?”

Cassandra shuttered at those words. “Yet you hate men…?” Cassandra uttered. 

“I do hate them.” Amaya had a grin across her face as she said, “Do you want to know why I hate them?” 

Cassandra sighed. “Amaya please…” she knew Amaya was about to have some kind of breakdown. 

Amaya covered her face with both hands and peered at Cassandra through her fingers. “I hate them because I’m nothing without them!” Amaya cried out suddenly. Cassandra could see Amaya begin to sob beneath her hands. “Whoring is all I’m good at, and a whore is what I’ll always be!” 

“Amaya, that’s not true…” 

“Oh!? Is that so!?” Amaya angrily ripped her hands off of her face as she shouted. “I tried being a teacher, I failed at that! I tried being a therapist, and I’ve ended up fucking any client that offers! I’m trying to be a mother, and Lucille is becoming just as much of an outcast as I am! I wasn’t good enough to be your lover! I couldn’t save Illia’s life! I can’t do anything right!” Amaya continued to sob loudly. 

“Amaya, stop…” Cassandra swam up to Amaya and wrapped her arms around Amaya. She swore that she just went through this yesterday. The name Illia was unfamiliar to her, and she wondered who that was.

“Cassandra…” Amaya sniffled. “Why am I like this…?” Amaya asked solemnly as she leaned into Cassandra. 

“We all get affected by things in different ways…” Cassandra gently stroked Amaya’s wet, wavy hair. 

“I just want it all to stop… The nightmares… Reliving it all…” Amaya tried to dry her tears on Cassandra’s shoulder. 

“I do too. It’s just something we’ll have to get through…” Cassandra paused and looked out at the beautiful scenery surround her. She shivered as she enjoyed Amaya’s body pressed against hers. “Together,” she finally uttered.

Amaya pulled away from Cassandra’s shoulder, and looked up at her. “I know you want to be my knight in shining armor. But I don’t know if that’s what I want.” 

Cassandra huffed in disappointment. “Why not?” she tried her best to still sound compassionate.

“I don’t like getting too attached,” Amaya pulled herself away from Cassandra’s arms as she spoke. “Whenever I get attached, people tend to leave me behind,” Amaya’s tone now became cold as she stepped out of the water and into some grass. 

Cassandra sighed as she watched Amaya distance herself once again. Maybe there is no hope in us, Cassandra thought.

“Anyways, this session was about you and helping you get better,” Amaya crossed her arms and made herself sound professional. 

Cassandra scowled and said, “No.” 

“What?” Amaya asked quickly.

“No,” Cassandra repeated. “I’m not letting you help me, unless you talk to me.” Well, that sounded dumb, Cassandra thought. “I mean, unless you be open with me. I know you’re repressing something, Amaya. We’ve known each other all our lives.”

Amaya’s eyes narrowed, before she shook her head and scoffed, “You think you’re such hot shit, don’t you?”

Cassandra did not respond. Now she really felt like this was going like their last conversation. 

“You’re gonna ride into Chorrol, woo me into your arms, and come enhance my shitty excuse of an existence, huh?” Amaya chuckled again as she grinned and looked up at the trees above her. 

Cassandra did not respond again, but she was beginning to get frustrated. 

“You know what the really sad thing is?” Amaya looked Cassandra in the eyes now, before standing suddenly.

Cassandra stared directly back into Amaya’s eyes.

“I have no idea why I won’t let you do it…” Amaya whispered sadly, just loud enough for Cassandra to hear, before Amaya gathered her clothes together and walked through the brush out of the spring. 

Cassandra stayed in the water, making no attempts to stop her or say anything else. She was baffled by that sequence of events. Amaya was right; Cassandra had been trying to woo her this whole time. Cassandra knew Amaya was in distress, and wanted to help her and win her love back. Can you help someone that doesn’t want to be helped? Can you love someone that doesn’t want to be loved? These kinds of thoughts raced through Cassandra’s minds as she stared blankly through the brush where Amaya had exited.


	15. Chapter 15

“Cassandra?” Cassandra quickly turned to her left as Camille— Serene at her side —entered the area. “Is everything alright?” Camille asked in her soft voice. As Camille entered the spring, the spriggans also returned.

“Yeah.” Cassandra sighed as she climbed out of the water, and watched the spriggans gracefully move about. “I was just expecting things to go differently with Amaya.” 

Camille nodded as she sat down in the grass, and motioned for Cassandra to join her. Cassandra made her way over, and sat next to her sister. “I think you need to realize that Amaya is in a different situation than you are.” Cassandra turned her head to look at Camille, who was looking back at Cassandra with her bright green eyes. “You’ve been alone for years, and so has she, but in different ways.” 

“How so?” 

“Have you been in a relationship since you left Chorrol? Or even had sex with anyone? Kissed anyone?” 

Cassandra was not sure where this was going yet. “No.”

“Any romantic interests at all?” Camille asked quickly. 

Cassandra paused to think for a moment. Hildar— as painful as remembering him was —was more of a brother to Cassandra than a romantic interest. “I guess not.” 

“Now how about friends? Or companions of any sort?” 

“Well, sure.” Cassandra shrugged.

“So it’s safe to say that you’ve had friends, but you haven’t had any romance in your life since you left?” Camille gently patted Serene’s head as the wolf laid next to her. 

“Yeah…” Cassandra never realized how little she even thought of romance while she was part of the Legion.

“And now you have to consider Amaya…” Camille’s tone grew slightly somber. “I don’t know if she’s told you what really happened when she was gone, but… She’s spent much of the last decade doing nothing but being used by men… And she never had a friend, at least not one for long.” Cassandra sighed and stared out at the spring. Camille continued in her soft voice, “My point is that I think you’re craving romance, a relationship, sex, while all Amaya wants right now is a friend.” 

Cassandra let out a faint chuckle. “You seem to know me better than I know myself.” 

Camille smiled at Cassandra, and leaned over to kiss her forehead gently. “We’re sisters. It’s just what we do.” 

Cassandra smiled at the kiss, and then laid her head on Camille’s shoulder. “...So, Amaya told you everything that happened to her?”

Camille nodded gently. “Yes. I’ve been closer to Amaya than I may have let on yesterday. She’s told me a lot about what happened to her, but she won’t open up to me about how things are going now.” Camille laid her head on Cassandra’s head and continued, “It may not seem like it, but I think she’s opening up to you a bit. Pardon me for being nosey just now, but I think she opened up to you during her angry outburst.”

Cassandra chuckled. “It’s okay. Be honest with me, Camille?”

“Of course.” 

Cassandra lifted her head to look Camille in her eyes. “Do you think that Amaya and I have any chance of getting back together?” 

“Well, it seems like you still love her. And I think she still loves you, at least a little. So I think there’s hope.” Camille smiled. 

“Thank you,” Cassandra said with a sigh as she watched the spriggans now. 

“You just need to take things slow. Don’t force yourself onto her, people have been doing that to her too much. Give her some space.” Camille reached over and ran her fingers through Cassandra’s hair.

“When did you get so good with love?” Cassandra asked with a giggle. 

“The spriggans taught me actually.” Camille twirled Cassandra’s hair between her fingers. “Sort of. In a way.”

“The spriggans? Really?” Cassandra was not convinced.

“The spriggans taught me how to love animals, and build relationships with them. Patience and compassion are the most important things you need to show.” Camille paused to rub her cheek against Serene’s forehead as the wolf’s head was still in her lap. “And people aren’t much different than animals at all.” 

Cassandra nodded. “I shouldn’t be surprised. You always did love spriggans as a child.” 

Camille’s eyes lit up as I grin spread across her face. “You have no idea! Spriggans have so much to teach us. I can’t even speak to them, yet they’ve taught me so much. They truly are a wonderful gift from Kynareth.”

“You seem like you’re truly happy, Camille,” Cassandra spoke happily as she smiled at her sister. 

“I am. Living out here in the forest is my dream come true. Defending the Great Forest is my purpose.” Camille gently stroked Serene’s head. “You need to find your purpose,” she added. 

“My purpose?” Cassandra said absentmindedly. “I thought my purpose was to heal people. I thought I’d be a healer in the Legion for the rest of my life.” 

“But now you’re here. Maybe your purpose is yet to be discovered.” 

“I hope so.” Cassandra lied back in the grass and yawned. 

“Tired, sister?” Camille smiled as she reached over to stroke Cassandra’s hair. Cassandra nodded. “Then rest. This place is peaceful, and you won’t be disturbed.” 

Cassandra mulled the idea for a bit, but decided she had nothing better to do; she was tired. “Alright,” she said while yawning. 

“Serene can be your pillow. She’s good at that.” Camille giggled and stood up, allowing Serene to step over to Cassandra and lie on her side.

“Thanks.” Cassandra laid her head on Serene’s soft stomach; it made for a great pillow. 

“While you two sleepyheads nap, I’m going to go foraging. I’ll be back soon.” Camille smiled before disappearing in the brush. 

It was not long before Cassandra dozed off…

Cassandra woke up in an unfamiliar room, sitting at a table. The room was dimly lit, and completely fashioned out of stone— the walls, the furniture, everything. However, it only took a few moments for Cassandra to realize that she was actually in a dream, as her body moved on its own volition and she had no control. It was almost as if Cassandra was watching someone else’s life through their eyes. 

Cassandra— or whoever she was watching —rubbed her eyes and yawned. The yawn sounded familiar; it was Gwen’s yawn. Cassandra figured she must have been dreaming that she was Gwen, but she found it odd that her thoughts were so intact during this dream. 

Gwen looked down at the table which held dozens, if not hundreds, of papers and books scattered about. Next, Gwen looked up at the wall above her, specifically at a large map plastered on the wall. It was a map of Tamriel. Arrows of different colors were drawn across the map, and all of them originated from Chorrol. There was a yellow arrow pointed west at Anvil, which branched out into several smaller arrows all across the western coast of Tamriel. There was also a black arrow, which pointed to the Imperial City. The Imperial City itself was circled multiple times. The last thing Cassandra noticed on the map before Gwen turned away was that the Summerset Isles had been circled, crossed out, and scribbled over in red ink. 

Suddenly, Gwen growled angrily and swept many of the books and papers off of the table in front of her. Next, Gwen furiously hit her fist against the stone table. Gwen let out a slight gasp of pain, and rubbed her knuckles as they now bled. Somehow, Cassandra could even feel Gwen’s pain.

Gwen stood up— while breathing heavily —and began to walk towards a door at the other end of the room. Then abruptly, a man came through the door and stepped in front of Gwen. Cassandra did not know how, but she could feel Gwen’s fear of this man. In fact, Cassandra felt Gwen’s anger just a few moments before also. 

The man did not appear overly frightening, though. In fact, he was rather handsome and unthreatening, and even shorter than Gwen, who stood at six feet tall herself. This man fair skin, and black, long hair that was neatly brushed to one side. His face was clean shaven, and he appeared to be younger than Cassandra was. 

“We’re all stressed out, Gwenevieve.” Even his voice was warm and inviting, but Cassandra still felt like something was wrong. “This has been hard work.”

“I know…” Gwen sounded tired. 

“Go home for the day. You’ve done good work.” The man patted Gwen’s shoulder and then walked passed her into the room. Cassandra felt a sudden wave of relief rush over Gwen, as Gwen walked into the next room. Before she could get too far, however, the man suddenly called out, “Oh. Gwenevieve. One moment.” 

Gwen hesitantly turned around, and saw the man picking up the books and papers on the ground with telekinesis. “Yes?” 

The man grinned, and somehow, Cassandra knew this grin was directed at her and not Gwen. “I see you in there… Quite impressive. Cassandra, is it?” The man chuckled. “I look forward to meeting you.” 

Instantly, Cassandra jolted awake. She looked around quickly to make sure she was still in the spring. She was; in fact, the spring was as tranquil as it had ever been. She then looked down at her nude body to make sure she was herself again, and she was. Cassandra sighed and rubbed her face. The dream felt so real, she thought, could it have been real?

A few moments later, Serene licked Cassandra’s cheek. Cassandra smiled at the wolf’s comfort; she figured that Serene was probably smart enough to realize she was under some distress. Cassandra petted the wolf, before standing and beginning to get dressed; she could not go back to sleep after that experience. 

Serene stood also, and nuzzled Cassandra’s hip before walking off. The wolf waited at the edge of the grove, while staring at Cassandra. She took it that Serene wanted her to follow, and so she let the wolf lead the way. Eventually, Serene brought Cassandra to Camille, who was picking berries from a bush. 

“Nap time over?” Camille smiled as she placed some berries into a basket, and stood up. Cassandra nodded. “Well, I believe it’s almost time for us to head to dinner anyways.” Camille looked up at the sky through the trees. “Let me grab some clothes and we’ll be off.”


	16. Chapter 16

Memories instantly flooded Cassandra’s mind as she approached the farm with Camille and Serene. Centurion Farm was a small farm owned by Cassandra’s adoptive parents. They grew all sorts of vegetables and herbs, and Cassandra fondly remembered tending to the garden with her mother. Her parents’ house was connected to the farm— a very modest one-story house with only three bedrooms, a living room, and a dining room that doubled as a kitchen. It always interested Cassandra that her father— a former Imperial Legate —decided to purchase such a small farm after his retirement. 

Cassandra stepped up to the house, and knocked on the door. An elderly woman answered it, who was instantly brought to tears at the sight of Cassandra. “Hey, mom,” Cassandra said happily as she hugged her mother.

“Oh, Cassandra! How I’ve missed you!” Viratira spoke happily as she sniffled and rubbed her eyes.   
“Come in! Come in! Your father can’t wait to see you!” Viratira eagerly led Cassandra into the house. 

Viratira brought Cassandra into the living room, where an elderly man was sitting in a large, comfortable looking chair. “There’s my Imperial soldier!” Sorelis let out a happy laugh as he used his cane to get to his feet. 

“Hey, dad,” Cassandra wiped her eyes as she stepped over to her father and hugged him. 

“My goodness, Cassandra! Does the Empire not feed you all anymore? You look thinner than a twig!” Sorelis exclaimed as he stopped hugging Cassandra. 

“I’ve just been traveling a lot and not eating much,” Cassandra lied with a smile.

“Well, I’ll fix that right up! We’re having a real feast tonight! Isn’t that right, Silvayth?!” Viratira called out as she walked into the kitchen. 

“For sure, Mama Marie!” Silvayth yelled out from in the kitchen. Emeline was in the living room sitting quietly in another chair, so Cassandra figured that the couple had been there a while before them.

“Camille, your dog better not make a mess in this house,” Sorelis scolded as he sat back down.

“How many times do I have to tell you that she’s a wolf, father.” Camille rolled her eyes and giggled, before pointing at the floor which caused Serene to sit. 

“It’ll be good to have all of my daughters back under the same roof again,” Sorelis said as he rocked his chair back and forth. “Please, Cassandra, sit.” Cassandra nodded, and sat in a chair next to Emeline. Camille sat on the floor next to Serene. “Tell me about the Skyrim Legion, dear.”

“Well, the Nords are strong and hearty. Not very good mages, though, so that’s why I was sent there,” Cassandra explained.

“So, did you see combat? I thought you were just going to be a healer! But I can see your arm has been wounded,” Sorelis continued to rock as he spoke. 

“I was just a healer for a long time, but they needed healers to be out on the field and on the front lines, so that’s where I went.” Cassandra gently lifted her damaged arm. “I got this in an ambush.” 

Sorelis shook his head. “I’m sorry, dear.” Sorelis then lifted his shirt, to reveal a large scar across his stomach. “I got sliced open on the field once. I thought I was dead for sure, until a young, beautiful healer came over and patched me up.”

“And young I was!” Viratira commented as she stepped back into the room with a plate full of meat. “Those were the days. Almost thirty years ago…” she continued as she reminisced. “Anyways, you girls must try this meat!” Viratira began to walk across the room, offering small slices to everyone. Viratira even threw a piece up in the air in Serene’s direction, and the wolf caught it in her mouth gracefully. “Now where are the rest of the girls? Dinner is going to be ready soon!”

“Gw-Gwen said she’ll be late…” Emeline spoke quietly. Cassandra glanced over at Emeline, and noticed that she looked very unhealthy. Her skin was as pale as snow, the skin around her eyes was completely enveloped in purple and black, and she shivered perpetually. 

“Are you feeling okay, Emeline?” Cassandra asked her quietly, so no one else would hear.

Emeline’s eyes quickly shot towards Cassandra before she nodded. “I just believe I’m coming down with something…” 

Cassandra examined Emeline's deathly complexion for a moment, and could not discern what her illness might be out of the hundreds she had come across in her time with the Imperial LEgion. Emeline looked as if her blood was being constantly drained. “Well, let me know if it gets really bad,” Cassandra advised. Emeline only nodded in response. 

Suddenly, the door swung open and Yvonne walked in. “Hey, sisters. Hey, dad. Hey, mom,” she spoke quickly as she walked into the living room and sat down in a chair near Sorelis. “Cassie, your little stunt almost got me demoted,” she scolded. 

“I’m sorry, Yvonne. I couldn’t—” Cassandra began to plead.

“I said almost. You don’t gotta apologize too much,” Yvonne rolled her eyes as she spoke dismissively.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Camille— being the closest —stood up and answered it. While Cassandra could not see who was at the door, she heard Camille gasp. “Amaya! Lucille! You’re here!” Cassandra leaned forward enough to watch as Camille hugged Amaya tightly, and then kneeled down to hug Lucille.

Camille led the two into the living room, and Cassandra found everyone’s reaction quite rude. “Hey, Lucille! How you doing, baby girl?” Yvonne asked the small girl, who waved back at Yvonne.

“There’s my granddaughter! Come here and give your grandpa a hug!” Sorelis beckoned. Lucille glanced up at Amaya, who motioned for Lucille to go over to her grandfather. 

Neither Yvonne or Sorelis bothered to say a word to Amaya, and Emeline did not even acknowledge either of them. That bothered Cassandra.

“There’s an open seat next to Cassandra.” Camille pointed over at Cassandra, and gently moved Amaya in that direction. Amaya did not object, and walked over to sit next to Cassandra. 

“Hey.” Cassandra smiled at Amaya.

“Hey,” Amaya responded not as happily.

“Well, well! I feel like I haven’t seen you since I last saw Cassandra!” Viratira exclaimed as she walked into the living room, over to Amaya, and hugged her. 

“I’m sorry, mom. I know I should visit more often,” Amaya said as they hugged. 

“Dinner’s almost ready! That other girl better get here soon!” Viratira exclaimed as she returned to the kitchen. The food smelled delightful to Cassandra, who had not eaten in hours. However, there was one smell mixed in with the abundance of other aromas that Cassandra found both disgusting and familiar. 

Soon, the family moved to the dining room and sat at the table as Silvayth and Viratira began bringing food to the table. Hilariously enough, Silvayth was wearing a pink, frilly apron. Just as the family was ready to begin eating, there was a knock at the door. 

“There’s Gwenevieve! Right on time!” Viratira exclaimed as she placed a couple plates of food on the table.

Emeline stood up quickly and said, “I’ll get it.” Such sudden movement and action seemed out of character for the shy woman. Emeline walked to the door, walked outside, and in came a Bosmer woman. 

Cassandra recognized the Bosmer almost instantly. This woman had the typical cream colored skin of Wood Elves, and a pair of small antlers that rested near her head. Her hair was black and flowed past her shoulders, and her eyes were large and a murky, green color. “Hello, Maries,” she spoke happily as she took an empty seat at the large table.

“Hey, Maelin,” everyone else in the room said some variant of this besides Cassandra.

“I see we have a new guest. Hello, Cassandra. Or should I call you Miss Marie?” Maelin smiled at Cassandra who was directly across the table.

“Hey,” Cassandra replied happily. “Gwen told me one of my students was still around, but she didn’t tell me who.” 

“Just me,” Maelin said with a shrug. “I’m glad you’re back.” 

“I’m glad to be back. I hear you’ve taken my job.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” Maelin chuckled and leaned back in her chair. “You two were both great teachers, and so is Gwenevieve,” Maelin glanced at Amaya as she spoke. 

“I hope you’re happy teachin’, Antlers,” Yvonne said in a joking, yet begrudging tone.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Cassandra asked Yvonne.

“Psst,” Maelin quietly attracted Cassandra’s attention. “She’s just bitter that I left the Fighter’s Guild to start teaching,” Maelin said in a hushed tone.

“You were the best archer we had!” Yvonne shouted defensively. 

“Yeah, yeah.” Maelin dismissively waved her hand. “I’ll come back… someday.” 

Yvonne groaned and puffed her lips out as she pouted.

“It’s time to start eating! What are those two girls doing out there!?” Viratira exclaimed as she and Silvayth finished setting food on the table. 

“I’m ready to start eatin’!” Silvayth said enthusiastically as he began piling food onto his plate. 

Cassandra and Emeline both entered the dining room together, both looking dreary and tired. “Why, both of you girls don’t look too good. Are you coming down with that bug everyone’s got?” Viratira asked her daughters in a worried tone.

“Just a lot of long nights of studying and research, mother,” Gwen answered as she sat down, and began eating. 

From the moment she saw Gwen, Cassandra was instantly reminded of her dream earlier that day. Cassandra looked at Gwen’s hand, and saw that it was wrapped in some bandages. She gasped audibly at the sight, getting everyone’s attention. “Sorry,” Cassandra said quickly with a fake chuckle. “Just remembered something.”

Everyone went back to eating, except for Gwen, who kept her eyes on Cassandra. Cassandra tried to avoid eye contact as she ate. Eventually, Gwen went back to eating also. 

“Try this stew, Cassandra.” Amaya placed a bowl in front of Cassandra. “It’s the best.”

Cassandra dipped her spoon into the stew, and took it back out. She eyed the stew for a moment, and smelled it. While the aroma itself was pleasant, it made Cassandra sick to her stomach. Nevertheless, Cassandra moved the spoon into her mouth; a sweet taste filled her mouth. However, the taste made her even more sick, as she quickly pulled the spoon out of her mouth as she began gagging. Cassandra struggled not to throw up all over the table. She shivered as she was struggling to keep the liquid in her mouth while being almost unable to swallow it.

“Cassandra, are you okay?” Amaya shifted in her seat as if she was going to help Cassandra.

Eventually, Cassandra managed to swallow the stew. She gasped for air as she looked around the table, and saw everyone’s eyes on her. Cassandra blushed from the embarrassment of everyone staring at her for a second time. “Sorry…” she uttered. The stew was the exact same kind Cassandra was fed often while imprisoned. 

Again, everyone returned to eating and their conversations, but now Cassandra felt estranged due to her outbursts. She sighed and stood up slowly, before dragging herself out of the dining room and out of the front door. It was dark and cold outside, causing Cassandra to cross her arms and shiver as she leaned against the wall near the front door. She just wanted a moment alone to calm down.

“Let me go talk to her,” Cassandra heard a whisper come from inside of the house.

“No. Let me,” Cassandra heard another whisper.

“I can help her the most,” a third whisper. 

“You did such a good job earlier, didn’t you?” the first whisperer spoke.

“Fuck you,” the third whisperer said.

“Girls. Come on,” the second whisperer tried to calm the other two. 

Cassandra sighed and opened the door. Standing in front of her was Camille, Gwen, and Amaya. “Oh! Hello, Cassandra,” Camille said with a smile.

Cassandra felt a little better just knowing her sisters were trying to help her. “I’ll be okay. Thanks for coming over here.”

Cassandra began to walk back in the house, before Gwen stopped her by placing her hand on Cassandra’s chest. “I need to talk to you.”

Cassandra was surprised by Gwen’s serious tone, as were the other two girls. Before Cassandra could answer, Viratira shouted, “Close that door and come back in here! You’re letting the cold air in!”

Cassandra and Gwen stared at each other for a moment, before Gwen let Cassandra go. “We’ll talk later.” 

The four girls all returned to the table. “Lucy baby, has your mother told you how your grandpa met your grandma?” Sorelis asked Lucille who was sitting across the table from him. Lucille shook her head as she took a bite from a piece of bread. “She hasn’t!? Shame on you, Amaya!” Amaya rolled her eyes at his words.

“Well, let me tell you, Lucille...” Sorelis continued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully the next 7 chapters will all be released rather quickly, as they will all be first-person flashbacks and stories.


	17. Chapter 17 - Sorelis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a first-person flashback being told by Sorelis!

It all started with— what they call —the March of Thirst. I was a Legate under General Decianus. Decianus was in control of all of the legions in Hammerfell, and was a great warrior and tactician. It was an honor to serve him. 

At the time, I was rather young— thirty-four I believe —and had only served in Cyrodiil, so I was not used to the brutal heat and dryness of Hammerfell. Neither were our soldiers as the Thalmor witch Lady Arannelya crushed our army, and sent us in a retreat across the Alik’r Desert. We had already been in Hammerfell for a while, so our food, and especially our water, was dwindling. Many soldiers also didn’t listen to General Decianus when he told them to cover all of their skin, and many suffered severe sunburns. The nights were just as dreadful as the day, as the desert became freezing cold. 

On the third day straight of marching, our men were dropping like torchbugs. General Decianus decided to gather any high ranking officials that were left— and anyone else that he thought could help —and held a meeting. 

“Legate Sorelis,” he said to me in his grizzly voice. “I need you to gather all of the other Legates and any battlemages we have left. We need to figure out what we can do.”

I immediately followed his orders, and began to spread the word that any legates and mages needed to come to the front of the march. I could only whisper and hope the message got passed along, as the thirst had nearly stripped me of my voice. 

Eventually, a small group had gathered at the front of march. There was only one other Legate still alive, and two battlemages, who I knew were part of the mysterious Black Legion that had been traveling with us; the Black Legion, as far as I know, was a hardly a legion at all, and instead a small group of super elite soldiers and mages chosen by the Emperor himself. We held our meeting while marching, as Decianus believed it was best that the army keep moving to reach our destination. 

“Men, I need your advice. We’ve lost half a thousand men marching, and who knows how many in our last battle. At our current pace, I have no idea how long it will take to reach Skaven. We have no food and no water. Is there any way we can save these men?” Decianus asked us.

“We need to let the men rest. We’re losing as many soldiers to fatigue as we are to starvation!” A fervent battlemage aggressively suggested. This battlemage was rather young and short, with long black hair. He didn’t appear older than a young adult.

“With no food or water left, resting may hurt the soldiers even more,” the other Legate suggested. 

“Perhaps we should find a healer to discuss with us what is affecting the men more heavily?” a tall Altmer mage calmly suggested. I knew that this Elf was the head of the Black Legion, and only knew him as The Traitor. As far as I knew, he earned that title as he betrayed the Thalmor some years before the Great War. 

“Good idea. Legate Sorelis, go call for some healers,” Decianus ordered.

So, I called for any remaining healers. It took a while, but finally a single healer appeared at the front of the march. She was a beautiful woman. Her beauty was almost like an oasis in the desert. Even though her robes were bloody, and her face was dirty, her beauty shined through. “I apologize for the delay, General,” she bowed to Decianus and spoke formally. “I was trying to save a man’s life. I am Viratira, ranked Auxiliary.”

“Thank you for your work.” Decianus continued, “Are there any other healers around?”

“I think all of the other healers are dead…” Viratira spoke sadly. 

“Very well. Auxiliary, I must know, would it be more harmful to our men to rest and take more time to reach Skaven, or to continue pushing them forward?” Decianus asked.

“That question has no right answer, General… While fatigue is claiming many men, none of them will survive much longer without water. I believe we should just try to push on,” the words were difficult for Viratira to get out. 

“Thank you, Viratira. Perhaps that is best…” Decianus spoke lowly. 

“Valen… I think I have an idea,” said the shorter battlemage to the Altmer as he stared up into the sky.

I looked up into the sky also, not seeing anything of particular importance but four measly clouds. “What is it, Cassius?” Valen the Traitor asked.

“The clouds…” I watched Cassius rub his chin as he spoke. “I don’t know how we’d do it, but if we could harvest the water from them. We could give the men some water!” 

“Hm…It will be tough because of the distance, but I think we could manage that with some telekinesis. Great idea, Cassius,” Valen said happily.

“Please try it,” Decianus urged. “Good luck to you both.”

Valen closed his eyes and held a hand out towards the sky; his hand began to glow a bright purple. Cassius stared up at the clouds and held out both hands, which glowed a darker purple. I watched in amazement as two clouds slowly began to approach us. 

Unfortunately, one cloud was moving much faster than the other before it suddenly faded away from existence in the sky. “Damn it!” Cassius growled suddenly as he pulled his hands back down. 

Valen kept his eyes closed as he spoke, “Cassius, you must gently pull the clouds. You need to control the force you exert, or else the cloud will fall apart.” Meanwhile, the second cloud continued to slowly approach us. 

“Ugh…” Cassius let out a frustrated groan, as he closed his eyes and began to mimic Valen. Soon, two clouds sat just above us, casting a shadow over a large portion of our soldiers. 

“I will squeeze the water from these clouds, but we will need something to hold the water,” Valen said as he kept his same position. 

“Hm, what can we hold water in…?” Decianus mumbled lowly. 

“Why not in our helmets? We can tell the soldiers to take off their helmets and catch the water in them?” I suggested with my raspy voice. At this point, there was murmur throughout the entire legion about the clouds moving suddenly. 

“Good idea. Round up the soldiers, tell them to get under the clouds and hold their helmets above them. Order them to also share their water with any other soldiers who couldn’t get any,” Decianus ordered to any soldier within earshot. 

So, the plan was put into action. Surely enough, eager soldiers gathered under the clouds with their helmets ready. Water began to drop from the clouds like rain, and many of the soldiers cheered as they got water for the first time in days. 

Although I did not partake in gathering water, I still got some. Viratira ran over to me after catching some water in her helmet and offered some of it to me. “You sounded really thirsty,” Viratira said as she handed me the helmet. 

“Thank you.” I smiled and took a generous drink of water. “Give the rest of this to the general, and the mages as well.” 

“Of course.” Viratira nodded, and shared the water among the others. 

This action was repeated with the remaining cloud, and it seemed as though everyone had gotten enough water to last them for at least a little longer. With morale high and dehydration less of a threat, Decianus decided now was a good time to let the soldiers rest. The sun was setting, so Decianus decided to order the soldiers to set up their bedrolls and try to get some sleep. 

However, before anyone could even properly fall asleep, there was a sudden explosion at the very end of the previously marching legion. “It’s the Dominion!” a soldier shouted, causing other soldiers to repeat the shout to alarm the entire army. 

“They’ve been pursuing us this closely!?” Decianus exclaimed in shock. “Quicky! Order the army to continue the retreat!” 

As we began to order the retreat, I could clearly see a large force of Altmer mages approaching over a hill and firing large fireballs at us. 

“I will cover our retreat!” Valen told Decianus before beginning to head towards the Thalmor army. Cassius began to follow him, but the Altmer stopped him. “Cassius! Do not follow me! If I do not return, it is your job to protect the Legion! Do you understand?!” 

“Valen! I can’t leave you!” Cassius yelled back with tears in his eyes. 

“I will return! Now go!” With those words, Valen began to sprint towards our attackers. 

So, the rest of the legion retreated. The fireball attacks continued for a bit longer, but soon a vicious sandstorm seemed to block the Dominion’s path towards us and allowed us to escape with only minimal casualties. Surely, that was Valen’s doing; however, Valen did not rejoin us after our retreat. 

We reached Skaven not long after that attack, but the Dominion was hot on our trail. We fought a bloody battle at Skaven, and were forced to retreat yet again. However, this time, the Dominion did not give chase. 

Over the course of a few months, our force was joined by reinforcements from Alik’r Warriors and an army from Daggerfall. We were preparing to strike Skaven and destroy Lady Arannelya and her army once and for all. Those plans changed when an Imperial messenger approached our tent. 

All of the high ranking officials were gathered in Decianus’s tent when the messenger was allowed in by the guards. “General Decianus, sir! I have an official letter from the Emperor himself!” the messenger said as he bowed and presented the letter to Decianus.

“Thank you, soldier.” Decianus opened the letter and began reading it to himself. I watched his facial expressions to try to get some idea of what the letter said, but that got me nowhere. “I have good news, and bad news, men,” Decianus announced to us.

“The good news is that we’re taking back the Imperial City.” There was a happy response from everyone in the tent, but I prepared myself for the bad news. “The bad news is that the Emperor is calling on us to return to help in the attack immediately,” Decianus continued.

“You cannot abandon us!” a Redguard general spouted suddenly.

“Our men cannot do this without your great leadership!” another Imperial Legate from Daggerfall shouted. 

Decianus sighed as he sat down the letter. The old man rubbed his temples as he thought. “I cannot disobey the Emperor, but I cannot simply abandon my province…” 

I felt bad for the city of Skaven and its people. They were waiting to be liberated, and we would have to leave them under the control of those evil Elves. The Redguards had treated our army so well, and we would be unable to help them. It felt like a betrayal of their faith in us. 

As Decianus was trying to think of a solution, an Altmer entered the tent. It was Valen, who I had not seen in months. “General Decianus, I apologize for my absence. I allowed the Thalmor to capture me in order to get information on their current state. Lady Arannelya and I used to be friends, so I knew I would be safe.” 

“Master Valen, it is good to see you again.” Decianus smiled and motioned for the High Elf to enter the tent further. “Your information will be most appreciated, as we’re now in a difficult position.”

 

Cassius gasped as Valen entered the tent, and the young battlemage stood and hugged Valen once he walked close. Decianus explained the Emperor’s message, which Valen only needed to mull over for a few moments.

“I see,” Valen gently stroked his long, white hair that reached his waist. “Lady Arannelya’s army is damaged and reeling. Even if only half of our current force attacked, I believe she would still be forced to retreat.” 

“Your army makes up more than half of our force! You can’t leave!” a Redguard general urged. 

“I cannot simply disobey the Emperor’s word…” Decianus repeated out of frustration. 

“General Decianus…” Valen twirled the ends of his hair. “I asked that the Black Legion be discharged.”

Decianus quickly looked at Valen, but then rubbed his chin. “I grant you your discharge.” At this point, I did not understand what was going on. Decianus then motioned for me to come to him, so I stood and stepped in front of him. “Sorelis, I always told you that one day you’d make a fine general.”

“Yes, sir?” I answered, totally confused.

“I am going to discharge you and 200 soldiers. I would advise you to take command of these men and work with Master Valen and the Redguards to take Skaven back.” Now I understood. General Decianus was leaving some of us behind to defeat the Dominion. I nodded and bowed to him. 

“Is it really such a good idea for us to listen to an Altmer? One who is friend’s with the enemy commander?” a Breton officer said skeptically.

“The Emperor trusts Master Valen greatly, and so do I. You would do well to listen to Valen and Sorelis if you want to defeat the Thalmor,” Decianus responded. 

That night, the bulk of General Decianus’s army left for the Imperial City, and I was in charge of the other discharged soldiers. That same night, Valen and I developed our attack plan for the city, and ultimately the destruction of Lady Arannelya’s army. Our plan was to push the Dominion out of Skaven, and into the Alik’r Desert, where Valen would finish them off with a very powerful spell. 

The next morning, the attack started. Surely enough, Arannelya’s army was weak and unable to hold off our assault. Within a couple hours, the Thalmor were fleeing the city. They fled directly into Valen’s trap in the desert, and he prepared to cast a spell atop a sandy hill that was in the direction that the Thalmor were fleeing. 

“They’re coming towards us, Valen!” Cassius shouted as we watched the Dominion flee from Skaven. Earlier, we snuck around Skaven and set up a small force of twenty soldiers that blocked the Dominion's retreat. While we were in no condition to take on the fleeing Thalmor, we were there as a safeguard in case Valen needed protection while casting the spell. 

“Good. Everyone make sure you stay behind me.” Valen sat down cross-legged in the sand in front of us all. 

The Altmer did nothing for a few minutes. I began to get worried as the fleeing Thalmor were getting closer to us. However, Valen’s body suddenly began to emit a purple aura, and the ground rumbled beneath us. That’s when I saw the most amazing thing in my life. 

The sands of the large desert area between us and Skaven began to shift suddenly. The Thalmor stumbled as the ground under them began to move around. The sand soon began to rise and fall as if it were ocean waves; many Thalmor were swallowed up by the sand as the sandy waves became large and violent. 

Eventually, one entire half of the desert sand between us and Skaven raised high in the air like a giant tsunami and swallowed the other half of the desert in a grand, crashing motion. After the giant wave fell, everything else fell silent. The sandy waves stopped, and there was so much dust flying around that I could not see the fate of the Thalmor. 

As the dust began to settle, I noticed Valen was now lying on his back— appearing unconscious. “Valen!” I heard an angry, high-pitched screech come from the dust. As more dust cleared, I could see a large Altmer woman approaching us, with a few other Altmer around her. “I’ll kill you, you damn traitor!”

“It’s Lady Arannelya!” Cassius shouted suddenly as he ran up to Valen, and began dragging the Altmer’s body away. “We must protect Valen!”

“Draw your weapons!” I shouted as I armed myself with my greatsword. There appeared to be only a dozen Thalmor troops still standing that approached us with Lady Arannelya. 

I prepared to take on the Altmer general herself, until Cassius quickly stepped in front of me. He held a ball of lightning in one hand, and a mace in the other. “Protect Valen at all costs. I will deal with Arannelya.”

“For being Valen’s apprentice, you sure are a fool,” Arannelya hissed as she continued to approach us. “At least you can die with your master!” Arannelya shouted before she charged at Cassius with her glass sword in hand. 

The young Cassius appeared to be nearly two feet shorter than her seven foot stature when the two clashed. I wanted to help him, but the other Thalmor began to close in, and I lept into action. One Altmer sent a fireball at me; I dodged it and charged at him. The Altmer tried to back away from me as he unsheathed a dagger, but there was little he could do. He tried to use the dagger to block my oncoming slash, but my greatsword powered straight through the dagger and into the elf’s chest. 

Combat continued all around me as I searched for a battle to join. One particular battle caught my eye of Cassius and Arannelya went one-on-one. The two alternated with attacks from their blades, and grand, powerful blasts of magic. One blast sent Cassius to the ground, and Arannelya quickly closed in on him. I ran over to help him, and I attacked Arannelya directly with my greatsword. Unfortunately, the Altmer general was much stronger than I anticipated, and she sent me stumbling backwards with a powerful block. 

As I tried to regain my balance, I felt someone grip onto my shoulder. I was suddenly spun around, and before I could react, an elf sliced my stomach open with his sword. I collapsed to the soft sand in pain. I held my bloody stomach, and writhed in pain on the ground. Death was not even a thought in my mind, because the pain was too much. 

I would’ve bled out right there if a healer, Viratira, hadn’t suddenly ran up to me and quickly dropped to her knees. “Stay with me!” I heard her yell through all the other sounds of war. “You’re going to live!”

I couldn’t respond. I watched as she suddenly tore off my leather cuirass. I felt sharp, burning pains in my stomach. As I continued writhing in pain, I noticed Arannelya once again closing in on Cassius just a dozen feet away. I fought through the pain and sat up. Viratira tried to force me back down, but I had grab the dagger hidden in my boot. Eventually, Viratira saw what I was trying to do and let me keep going. 

I grasped my dagger as quickly as I could, and aimed for Arannelya’s head. As she stood right over Cassius, I suddenly threw my dagger at her. The dagger missed Arannelya’s head, but stabbed into her shoulder. Cassius took care of the rest; he sprung up to his feet and slammed his mace into Arannelya’s chest. The Altmer gasped in pain, and turned to escape Cassius as she coughed up blood. I couldn’t see the rest of the battle as Viratira forced me back to the sand, and continued her healing work on me. 

“There. I think you’ll be okay now…” Viratira said a few minutes later. The fighting had all but stopped, and it appeared that we were victorious. Viratira slowly helped me to my feet.

“Thank you for saving me.” I smiled weakly at her.

She nodded. “It’s what I do.” 

Cassius approached us, bloody and covered in dust. “I couldn’t kill her, but I don’t think Arannelya will be a problem for now.”

“Will Master Valen be alright?” I asked.

“He will be fine.” Cassius nodded. “Moving so much sand like that drained him.”

“Let’s regroup in Skaven…” I said. “I think I’ll be okay to walk on my own.” I looked at Viratira, as she had an arm around me and was helping me walk. 

“Oh no. Not until I get to check you out in Skaven.” Viratira smiled.


	18. Chapter 18 - Gwenevieve

“I think it’s worth mentioning that Valen is now the Imperial Battlemage for the Emperor,” Sorelis said proudly.

“Oh, those days seem so long ago…” Viratira said with a sigh. 

Dinner continued for a little while longer, and then dessert came around. A couple hours had passed since dinner started, and Viratira stood up. “Well, all my lovely children and friends, it is far past time for Sorelis and I to be asleep. Feel free to stay as long as you’d like, sweeties.” 

“Goodnight. I hope we’ll have another feast like this soon,” Sorelis added, and the elderly couple then left the dining room. 

“So, I was thinking that us sisters should participate in a little activity,” Cassandra spoke up. “Since some of us have been away for a while, or haven’t been very communicative with our other sisters, I want us all to share a story of something very important that has happened in our lives, or perhaps something just interesting or amazing, in the past decade. How does that sound?” 

None of her sisters seemed to be opposed to the idea, except Amaya who did not respond at all.

“It’s important that we be very open to each other, and that we don’t hold anything back,” Cassandra looked around at each of her sisters as she spoke.

“We’ll leave you ladies to it, then.” Maelin smiled and looked at Amaya. “May I take Lucille into the living room?”

Amaya nodded. “Go on, Lucille.” Lucille hopped out of her chair, and scurried over to the Bosmer. The two of them walked into living room. 

“I think she means you too, babe…” Emeline said quietly to Silvayth. 

“Aw, really?” Silvayth let out a playful groan. “Fine.” Silvayth kissed Emeline briefly, and left to the living room also. 

“I guess since it’s my idea, I should go first… Ironically, my story also includes Valen and Cassius...” Cassandra said before she began her story. 

\-----

My story begins six years ago. I had become somewhat famous in Chorrol around this time, mostly due to my knowledge and extensive research. Whenever someone had a problem that they didn’t know how to handle, they came to me; whether it was how to deal with a rat infestation, or the best medicine to give to a child suffering from blood lung disease. It started out with just our sisters, then the parents of my school children, and eventually spread throughout Chorrol. I was known as the wisewoman.

However, all of my research was not exactly inexpensive. So, I needed to find a way to fund all of the books and other things that I needed to buy. So, I decided to take up archaeology, although some people tend to call it treasure hunting. I started delving through ancient ruins and caves I learned about through different books; sometimes I would be able to find artifacts— particularly Ayleid artifacts —that sell for very high prices in the Imperial City. I’m sure people catching wind of those activities added to my fame. 

While I was used to being visited by the occasional nobel along with other normal citizens, I was quite surprised when the Count of Chorrol himself summoned me. The messenger sent to me told me that he was not told why the Count wanted to see me, but that me meeting him was of utmost importance to the Empire. 

So, I gathered a few things and set out to the castle. I nervously approached the guards, literally shaking as I showed them my summons. 

They let me into the castle, where I was greeted by a tall, handsome Altmer. “Miss Gwenevieve Marie?” he asked me in a delicate voice; I think he could tell how nervous and out of place I was.

I smiled and nodded. “That’s me. I mean, I am her. I am Gwenevieve. You can call me Gwen.” I giggled nervously as I stumbled through my words.

The Altmer nodded, and began walking with his arms behind his back. “I am Valen Camore. The head of the Imperial Research Team. Walk with me, please.” Valen was around the average height for an Altmer, so a few inches taller than me. His skin was golden and unblemished, and his snow white hair fell to his waist. He was dressed in a hooded black robe, with blood red designs in its sleeves and hood. 

“So… What’s this all about?” I asked as I followed behind him. 

“You’re not actually here to see the Count. You’ve earned quite a reputation in the Imperial City for your skill at acquiring ancient artifacts,” Valen said to me. “The Empire is in need of that skill.” 

“Really?” I rubbed the back of my neck. “I’m not sure I’m qualified to work for the Empire.” 

“I’m sure you are.” Valen led me through the castle, through a few different doors. “Your father is Sorelis Marie, right?” 

“Yes.”

“I served with him in the Great War. He was a great man.” Valen stopped briefly to smile at me. “I’m sure he raised a great daughter.” I smiled and felt myself blushing.

Valen led me into a room in the castle, which was occupied by a few other people. “So, Gwen,” Valen said, “The Empire is not ordering you to help in this mission, but the Empire is asking for your help.” I nodded. “Please listen to this briefing, and let us know if you’ll be able to help or not. This is Cassius. He is organizing the search for this artifact.”

“Hello, ma’am.” A shorter, young man with black hair bowed slightly to me as he spoke, “Our sources say you are an expert on delving into Ayleid ruins. Is that accurate?”

“Well…” I rubbed my shoulder. “I have experience traversing them.”

Cassius nodded. “Good. We are interested in the Ayleid ruin Hame. Are you familiar with it?”

“Not much. I know its location, and that it isn’t known to hold any Ayleid artifacts of particular importance,” I answered.

“Ah,” Cassius sat down in a chair. “Please sit.” I took the offer and sat with him. “We are not concerned with finding any Ayleid artifacts. We are searching for an artifact that was created about two centuries ago, during the Oblivion Crisis.”

“Why do you think it’s in Hame?” I asked.

“The item in question was stolen by a notorious gang of mage-thieves,” Cassius said.

As he paused to take a breath, I inquired, “The Valus Highlanders?”

“Exactly…” I saw Cassius glance over at Valen, who shrugged. “This artifact is an amulet, created by a couple mages. Supposedly, it allows the wearer to control their dreams. Legend says that the Hero of Kvatch used it to travel into someone else’s dreams. It is very important to Imperial research that we get back this amulet.”

I sat back in my chair. “That sounds highly improbable, but intriguing. The Empire uses legends to base its decisions off of?”

“I would think that legends would be very important in your line of work,” Cassius shot back quickly, but not wholly aggressively. I even smiled at his playful facetiousness. 

“Anyways,” Valen interjected, “I am aware that Ayleid ruins are usually full of traps. Could you perhaps let us know what kinds of traps you’ve seen in Ayleid ruins, and how to spot them?”

“Of course. I’ll tell you all about it on the way to Hame.” I smiled at Valen. Even though I had just met these two, I was already completely comfortable with them.

“Excuse me?” Cassius asked quickly.

“Oh, come now.” I smiled at Cassius. “I am not going to let you all go into that deadly Ayleid ruin by yourselves. Traversing through an Ayleid ruin is a very delicate process. I can’t just tell you about it. I think it would be in your best interest to let me come along. There’s no doubt that the Highlanders know what they’re doing, so you should too.” Not only did I want to explore Hame for myself, but I really wanted to be a part of an Imperial expedition.

Valen and Cassius looked at each other for a few moments, until Valen spoke up, “I think we should let her come.”

Cassius nodded his head and turned to me. He leaned in close before saying, “This mission is very confidential. You can’t tell anyone about this.”

It was a while ago, so I’m sure it’s fine to tell the story now.

I agreed, and they made me sign a few papers expressing my loyalty to the Empire, my confidentiality, and other things. I returned home, gathered anything that I felt I might need for the trip, and we left that same day. 

There were eight of us in total, including Valen, Cassius, and I; the five others were unique characters. Gaul— also known as Gaul the Butcher —was a knight of great stature. Gaul was always quiet, and dressed in a shiny, imposing suit of silver armor. His helmet was in the shape of a bull, and I hardly ever heard him speak. When he did speak, it was almost exclusively to Cassius, who seemed to have a good friendship with him.

Jyden was the only other female in the group. She was a Redguard, and wore black robes much like Valen. Her hair was almost completely shaved off, and I noticed black tattoos on her wrists and neck when her robe flowed in the wind. She wasn’t as quiet as Gaul, but also wasn’t much of a talker. 

Sten was a balding, male Breton. He did not seem to be much of a fighter or a mage, and made sure to record everything that happened during our travels. Sten was the secretary for the group. 

The other two members were twin Nords in their older teens, and definitely the talkers of the group. Their names were Mikal and Jason. Everything about them was outrageous and eccentric, down to their dress. Each of them wore ornate “robes”. Their robes were cut at the stomach and sleeves, so that the twins could show off their admittedly impressive physique. They wore what I believed to be ebony gauntlets, leggings, and boots. The only difference between their dress was that Mikal wore a red robe, and Jason wore a blue robe. I thought it was interesting for them to be working for the Empire, as they seemed more like cutthroats than Imperial researchers. 

As we traveled through the wilderness, the two often displayed their magical prowess— much to the dismay of Valen.

“Check this out, Gwen!” Mikal shouted as he suddenly conjured a gigantic wyvern made of flames in the sky.

“Stop this,” Valen insisted somewhat weakly; I think he had grown tired of attempting to stop the two. 

“No, check this out!” Jason shouted as he conjured a giant serpent out of lightning in the sky.

I was awed by the display, and wondered how powerful these two must have been. “Those are very impressive. But maybe you should listen to Valen,” I told them.

“Aw, you’re no fun!” Mikal shouted playfully as the figures in the sky disappeared.

“Hey, Mikal! Race you up that hill!” Jason shouted as he started running.

“Hey! No fair!” Mikal laughed, running after him.

“Are those two always like this?” I asked Valen.

“They’re still young, but have a lot of potential,” Valen chuckled. “I just hope they grow out of their adolescence soon.”

“That’s part of what makes them so powerful. Their wildness and unpredictability,” Cassius chimed in.

“Perhaps, but they’d be equally as powerful if they honed their skills,” Valen responded. 

We traveled all day and all night, and as we approached the mountains, both a blizzard and sundown fell upon us. 

“I think it’s too dangerous for us to traverse this blizzard through the night. Let’s set up camp,” Valen said. 

A few large tents were set up at the base of the mountain, and our party divided among them. To make sure I didn’t feel alienated at all, Valen and Cassius invited me to sleep in their tent for the night. 

“I hope you don’t mind,” Valen said as he undressed, “But Cassius and I tend to conversate a lot before falling asleep.”

“I don’t mind.” I smiled as I also undressed, trying my best not to get nervous in front of the other two.

“He’s overexaggerating. We don’t speak that much,” Cassius jested.

He was wrong though. Cassius, Valen, and I were up for hours speaking about anything and everything. 

“So, Valen, I’m sure you’re aware that rumors are going around that Mede wants to make you the next Imperial Battlemage, since Sen retired,” Cassius said while eating some bread.

“Yeah,” Valen responded as he drank some hot tea. “I think I would be hesitant to accept the position.”

“Why’s that?” Cassius asked. 

“It would mean I wouldn’t be able to be as involved with the Imperial Research Team as I’d like to be,” Valen said, “However, I know it will be in good hands when I do relinquish it.”

Cassius smiled with his mouth full. “I wouldn’t even be here without you.”

“The same goes to you, my friend.”

This intimate moment made me giggle.

“What’s so funny?” Cassius asked as he wiped his mouth. 

“It’s cute seeing you two like this.” I smiled at them both, causing a little blush from both of them. “How long have you two been friends?”

They both looked at each other a bit somberly, and answered together, “31 years.” 

“Okay…” I said a bit awkwardly; I definitely did not expect that response. “Excuse me for asking, Cassius, but I assume you use magic to keep your looks up. My father actually told me about you two, and he described you as a young man during the Great War, and you still look quite young.” 

Cassius nodded. “I know it may seem somewhat vain, but I find that keeping my appearance young has its benefits.”

“And…” I turned to Valen. “Speaking of the Great War… Is it true that you made the desert into a sandy ocean during the battle at Skaven?”

“Yes, and it nearly killed me,” Valen said with a chuckle. “I think I overestimated my abilities back then. Moving all of that sand so quickly put a lot of pressure on me. Afterwards, the healers believed that I cracked many bones throughout my body, and that my heart almost literally exploded.”

“Oh… I had no idea about that part,” I admitted.

“You should’ve seen Cassius. He was as white as a ghost then,” Valen said as he grinned teasingly Cassius.

“Hey! I was worried about you!” Cassius asserted in his defense.

I couldn’t help but giggle at their playful back and forth bickering. Not long after, we finally went to sleep— or tried to. Due to the blizzard outside, I was freezing cold despite being wrapped in a furry blanket. I struggled to stop my shaking and my teeth from chattering.

“Gwenevieve, are you alright?” I heard Valen whispering through the darkness. 

“A-A little c-cold…” I struggled to say.

Valen conjured up a small flame to illuminate his face. “I have something that will help.” 

“W-What’s that?” I sat up slowly.

I watched as Valen’s other hand began to glow a soothing, cream color. “I’m going to need you to remove your blankets, and let me place this on your bare chest.” He paused for just a moment before adding quickly, “If you don’t mind.”

“Not at all.” I shimmied out of my blankets, and pulled down my nightgown. I blushed some as my gown fell off of my shoulders and exposed my entire chest.

“I call this ‘warm touch.’” Valen said as he gently placed his soft palm on my chest— just above my breasts. As soon as he made contact with my skin, the cold suddenly disappeared. Instead of being freezing, I felt comfortably warm.

“Thank you,” I said with a smile as I pulled up my nightgown after Valen moved his palm away. 

Valen nodded and returned the smile. “Try to get some rest. The Highlanders are very dangerous, and we’ll need to have our wits about us. Goodnight, Gwenevieve.”

“Okay. Goodnight, Valen.” It did not take me long to fall asleep after that.

The next morning, after having a light breakfast of rabbit that Gaul cooked, we set out immediately for Hame. As we approached the Ayleid ruin, it was almost completely hidden by overgrowth, the perfect place for a thief den. We entered Hame slowly, and I lead the way. I instructed everyone to travel slowly and hold hands, as we had to travel into total darkness with the exception of one magelight that I used to scope out any traps. 

As I suspected, the Valus Highlanders must have known Ayleid ruins well as they had reset all of the traps. 

“Everyone, stop,” I instructed as we approached a long corridor. I could tell that we were approaching spike traps, due to the architecture of the corridor and certain markings on the walls. I reached into my satchel, and pulled out a stone. “This will be loud, so it may give away our position,” I advised to the group behind me.

“I still see no signs of life in these ruins…” Cassius said quietly, as he was casting a detect life spell.

“They must be concealing themselves,” Valen said. “Stay vigilant. Go ahead, Gwen. I have a feeling they already know we’re here.”

I tossed the stone down onto the floor in front of us, and the ground suddenly collapsed with a loud crash. I peeked over the edge, and saw spikes protruding from the hole below. “We can’t go this way unless we jump. We need to find a secret path. We need to find a lever, probably disguised as a candle or part of a crypt.” 

“Do you think it’s safe for us to split up?” Valen asked.

“As long as we only stay in areas where we’ve already traveled through. I should be called if anyone stumbles on a new area,” I answered.

“You heard her, everyone. Sten, you’re with Gwen and I. Cassius, you’re with Gaul. Jyden, you’re with the twins. Stay safe,” Valen instructed before each group when their separate ways. 

So, Valen and I slowly canvassed the walls of Hame, searching for some secret passages. As we approached a wall, we began to hear some otherworldly growls and groans. 

“Zombies,” I said, “Seems like the Highlanders dabble in necromancy. The secret passage must be close.” 

A few moments later, Sten let out a sudden scream, “Ah!” 

I heard the sound of a pressure plate, and suddenly the walls around us dropped; a group of a dozen zombies quickly moved in on us from all directions. 

“Stay behind me!” Valen shouted as he immediately sent flames on some of the zombies. 

Sten cowered next to me as zombies closed in on us from behind Valen. I decided to take action, quickly charging at the zombies and sending fireballs at some of them. As the corridor we were in was already tight, the zombies became extremely close, almost within arms reach. I swung my oak staff at a zombie’s head, decapitating it. Before I could attack another, the remaining zombies burst into flames. 

“Everybody alright?” Cassius said as he and Gaul approached us.

“We are,” Valen answered. “And I think we found the way forward.” 

“We have,” I said as I peered through one of the openings made by the fallen wall. 

We got our group back together, and we traveled down the new passage. “I believe we will be approaching the main hall of Hame soon. An ideal place for the thieves’ main hideout, or an ambush,” I spoke quietly now.

“I still see no signs of life…” Cassius uttered. “But I think I feel their presence…”

“Be ready to fight everyone,” Valen advised. We moved through the rest of the passage in total silence. 

I cautiously stepped through the end of the dark passage into a dimly-lit, great hall, ready to cast a protection ward in case of an attack. However, everything was calm and silent as we all shuffled into hall. Hame’s great hall was a huge room that most likely housed most of the social interactivity in Hame when the Ayleids resided in it. Everything looked to be in order and the hall seemed totally undisturbed. 

“Maybe they’re not—” As soon as Jason stepped forward and began to speak, an ice spike came flying from a dark corner and stabbed into his stomach. He let out a groan of pain and fell to the ground.

“Jason!” Mikal shouted in fear, prompting dozens of ice spikes, fireballs, and sparks to be fired at us. 

Luckily, Valen cast a large magical ward to protect us from the projectiles. Just a few moments later, our attackers revealed themselves from thin air— most likely done by invisibility spells —and began attacking us with more spells, and charging us directly. 

“Sten! Get Jason to safety! Everyone attack!” Valen shouted as he now dropped the ward and sent violent, massive sparks at the Highlanders.

Everyone spread out as they began battling the Highlanders. I watched as Gaul gallantly charged at a mage, taking a fireball to his chest without stopping for a moment, before splitting the mage’s skull in half with a heavy greatsword. 

Mikal let out furious screams as he sent out dozens of fireballs that exploded upon impact all over the great hall. Before I could join in and help, I saw an ice spike headed straight toward me. I managed to barely dodge it, but I could only watch as it flew past me and hit Sten, shattering his skull immediately on impact. I froze as Sten’s body dropped; I almost vomited, as I had never seen such a gruesome human death in my life. 

I looked down and saw Jason writhing in pain on the floor. He was holding onto his abdomen while it bled profusely. I dropped to my knees and began to heal the wound, ignoring the intense combat around me as the room flashed every second from a new spell being cast. While healing Jason, I saw a figure sprinting at me out of the corner of my eye. I quickly shot flames at it, but it used a ward to block my attack. 

I quickly rose to my feet and held my staff firmly, ready to defend myself. As the Highlander closed in on me— armed with a sword —I jabbed him where I knew there was a pressure point in his stomach with my long staff. The jab stopped his advance, so I quickly jabbed him in a pressure point on his chest, and then his throat, before suddenly swinging my staff at the side of his head with all of my might. The hardwood staff hit his head with a brutal cracking sound, and the mage fell to the ground. 

“Oh Gods…” I mumbled to myself, slightly shaken that I actually may have just killed another person for the first time. 

Two other Highlanders began to move toward me, but before I could even react, a figure moved so fast in front of my attackers that it appeared to just be a shadowy blur. The next thing I knew, both Highlanders throats were slashed and they fell to the ground. A figure in black robes stood in front of them, until the figure threw off her robes in one swift motion, and revealed herself to be Jyden. The Redguard was armed with two daggers, and now only wore what appeared to be very small shorts and a bra; with her robes gone, I could now see that tattoos covered Jyden’s entire body. 

“Get Jason to safety. I’ll cover you,” she said very nonchalantly without even looking at me. 

I immediately began dragging Jason into the passage we entered the hall from. Once we were safe inside, he suddenly struggled and tried to get up. “Let me up! They need help!” Jason shouted at me.

“You’re hurt! You’ll get killed if you go back out there!” I shouted back at him as I continued healing his wound, using some bandages from my satchel to patch him up.

“Damn it!” He angrily punched the ground.

“Stay still!” I growled as I finished bandaging him. “Now, stay right here,” I told him sternly before returning to the action.

At this point, it seemed like the fighting was winding down; much less spells were being cast, at least. Quickly scanning the situation, I noticed that both Mikal and Jyden were injured in some way as they started limping away from the fighting. 

I began to move to try to assist them, until I noticed a mage fleeing the battle with a peculiar looking amulet in his grasp. I watched as he opened a secret passage across the room, and ran through it. “Valen! They’re fleeing with the amulet!” I shouted at him as I noticed he was not currently locked in combat. 

“Where!?” he shouted back. 

“This way!” I pointed as I began moving towards the secret passage.

Valen looked across the great hall, most likely assessing the situation before shouting, “Gaul! Jyden! Secure the area! Cassius! We’re going after the amulet!”

I quickly lead Valen and Cassius through the passage. It was completely dark, and seemed to be an artificial path that led through the mountains and out of Hame. We ran through the passage as quickly as we could, and eventually ended up outside on a cliffside. 

Another blizzard was now raging outside, and a single mage stood on the edge of a cliff with the amulet in hand. “You come any closer, and this amulet goes over the edge! You’ll never find it!” the mage yelled at us while holding the amulet over the cliff. Below the cliff was a very steep, snowy hill. 

“Is that amulet really worth your life!?” Valen shouted at him. 

“You’ll kill me anyway! Imperial dogs!” the Highlander then threw the amulet over the cliff. 

However, before he even began his throw, Cassius started sprinting towards the cliff. To my surprise, Cassius actually leaped off of the cliff in an attempt to catch the amulet. “Cassius!” Valen shouted as he quickly put up both of his hands, and stopped Cassius from falling to his death with telekinesis. 

As Valen was busy trying to pull Cassius to safety, the Highlander threw an ice spike directly at Valen. Somehow, I was able to act quick enough to use telekinesis myself to stop the ice spike just inches away from Valen’s head. As the Highlander turned his attention toward me, I instantly sent the ice spike back towards him and it pierced his chest. The Highlander quickly fell to the ground, and tumbled off of the cliff. 

A couple moments later, the ground began to shake violently and the sound of a loud, crashing wave came from behind us. I turned around instantly, and saw a massive wave a snow barreling toward us. Valen was still pulling Cassius in, so I knew I had to protect us. I mustered up all of the magic I had in me, and tried to stop the snow with telekinesis. I let out a loud cry of pain as I felt intense pressure throughout my entire body as the snow stopped, but I knew I could not hold the snow for long. Eventually, the pain became too great and I could not continue the telekinesis. Fortunately, both Valen and Cassius now also held the snow still, letting the rest of it rush down the mountain around us. 

I dropped to the snow and gasped for air as my entire body felt sore. Eventually, the avalanche died off, and Valen came over to me. “Gwen? Are you alright?” he asked as he dropped to a knee.

I nodded. “Just in pain…” I uttered while I panted. 

“Thank you for saving us,” Valen said as he cast a healing aura throughout my body, which alleviated some of the pain.

“No problem.” I slowly climbed to my feet. 

Valen turned around to look at Cassius, who was now examining the amulet. “What were you doing? You could’ve been killed!” Valen scolded him.

Cassius quickly shot a glare at Valen. “This amulet is more important than me,” he responded sternly.

“Don’t you ever do something like that again. I will not lose you!” Valen stared at Cassius as he uttered these words both angrily and sadly.

Cassius stared back at him in silence, before beginning to walk back into Hame, saying, “Let’s make sure the others are alright.”

We traveled back into Hame, and met up with the rest of the group. We had a moment of silence for Sten, but Jason was going to be just fine. We left for the Imperial City that same day. 

Back at the Imperial City, I was paid for my services and given transport back to Chorrol. As I was about to board the carriage back to Chorrol, Valen approached me. “Gwen! Hold on,” he said as he ran up to me.

“Yes?” I asked as I began loading my things onto the carriage. 

“Thanks again for everything.” He smiled and held his hand out, which I shook.

“Of course. Thank you for letting me come along.” I smiled back. 

“I have an offer for you. You’re free to leave it if you wish, but the pay is good and working for the Empire is an honor.”

I tilted my head out of curiosity.

“I wanted to know if you’d be interested in joining the Imperial Research Team? Of course, there is a process of joining and we’d have to speak further at a later date, but I believe you could benefit the Empire greatly.”

I couldn’t help but grin. “That’s definitely something I would be interested in.” 

“Great!” Valen grinned too. “I’ll be in touch with you then. I’d expect a visit in a couple weeks from me.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” I said with a wide smile. 

“Well, have a safe trip then…” he said as he gave a little, awkward wave even though we were only a few feet from each other. 

I’m not sure why, but I decided to give him a hug. He hugged me back, and we said our final goodbyes with blush on both of our faces. After that, I came home to Chorrol and life went on. Today, I work with the Imperial Research Team from time to time.


	19. Chapter 19 - Yvonne

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I remember when I thought this story would only be a little longer than Frigid World... At this point in writing the story, I'd be surprised if the whole story turns out to be less than 100K words! I hope you're enjoying it so far, because this will be a long one!

“I had no idea you made such a name for yourself, Gwen,” Cassandra said after the story finished. 

“And I didn’t know you were such a badass. Teach me about those pressure points sometime, will ya’?” Yvonne laughed. 

“You have to know how to fight in that line of work.” Gwen shrugged, but sounded proud.

“It sounded like you and Valen may have had a thing going on,” Camille suggested with a wink.

“What? No!” Gwen asserted as her face turned red. “We were— are —just friends!”

“Anyways, I want to go next! I have a story I’ve been itching to tell!” Yvonne said eagerly.

“Go ahead, Yvonne.” Gwen smiled, looking happy to have the conversation taken away from her supposed relationship. 

“This story is about the time I fought a Leviathan,” Yvonne spoke as if this was some epic accomplishment, but truthfully it flew over Cassandra’s head.

“Really? A Leviathan?” Amaya asked skeptically, and almost a bit snobbishly. 

“Yes, a Leviathan!” Yvonne responded scoldingly. 

“Wait, wait,” Cassandra butted in, hoping to stop an argument, “What is a Leviathan?”

“A large sea creature,” Camille answered, before turning to Yvonne, “Must you tell this story about hurting that poor fish?”

“First of all, it is a giant sea monster,” Yvonne emphasized. “And I killed it out of self-defense. So keep your nature-loving self under control.” Camille frowned at her words. “Leviathans were thought to be legends, myths, extinct, gone forever, until we found one, and I killed it… Well, maybe killed it.”

“How giant?” Cassandra asked.

Yvonne raised an eyebrow as she grinned at Cassandra. “Leviathans were known to swallow ships whole. If that answers your question…”

\---

Four years ago, I was getting tired of life in Chorrol. The Fighters Guild kept me busy, but I could only slaughter skeevers in basements for so long. I needed some new sort of adventure in my life. After a boring day, Bailey offered to take me for a few drinks at The Oak and Crosier.

“What’s been up with you?” Bailey asked after we cheered and downed the ale. 

“What?” I answered back, but I knew what she was talking about.

Bailey rolled her eyes. “Come on, Yvonne. You’ve seemed really uninterested these last few days.”

“I have been,” I said before drinking.

“With the Fighters Guild?”

“With everything!” I shouted. “It’s all been so boring!”

“Well, why don’t you take up adventuring?” Bailey suggested with a shrug.

“Not my style.” I waved the thought off dismissively. “What am I supposed to go adventure for? Sightseeing?” I scoffed.

“Hm…” Bailey looked down into her ale. “You know Yvonne, I felt kinda lost like you a few years ago.”

“Yeah?” I took a drink. “What’d you do?”

“I took a trip back to my homeland. Daggerfall, that is.” Bailey gently shook her drink. “I discovered a lot about myself, my culture, and got a new outlook on life… You’ve never actually been to Hammerfell, have you?” Bailey asked.

I shook my head as I drank.

“Maybe what you need to do is visit Hammerfell— by the Gods, there is hardly a single Redguard in this city —so maybe you need to connect with your roots.”

“You think that’s what I need?” I asked, thinking over the idea. “I have always wanted to get in touch with my Redguard side…” 

“Do it then, big girl!” Bailey smiled and swung her arm over my shoulder. “I think it’ll be good for you. I’ll tell you what I did in Daggerfall. I went and visited all the most popular cities, partied, got in a few bar fights, slept with a few Breton knights, spent a while on a Breton ship, got the whole experience.”

“A ship?” That part caught my attention. Although I had never been on a ship— or ever laid eyes on the ocean for that matter —I always read stories of the great Redguard sailors. 

“Yeah. It wasn’t too bad. Lots of good fish to eat, but I think I got seasick a few times…” Bailey stuck out her tongue.

That night, I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to get out on the ocean, with a great Redguard crew. I didn’t know how I’d do it, but the first step was getting to Hammerfell. So, I traveled to Hammerfell and through the dreadful Alik’r Desert. I was lucky to acquire the services of a desert guide, who rode me and some others on camels. 

We arrived in Sentinel, and it was a truly breathtaking city. I took time to have authentic Yokudan food and drink, but my main objective was searching for a ship that I could join. One morning, I left for the great pier at Sentinel, and began asking around to see if anyone knew any ships that were hiring. 

Most of the time, I was told things like, “A ship’s no place for a woman,” or some other sexist remark. Eventually, however, I found my way into a bar and the bartender pointed me in the direction of someone looking for some new crewmembers. 

The man I was sent to was leaning up against a wall. He was not particularly tall, but he was muscular and well-built. His massive arms were covered in tattoos and scars. His hair was short, brown, and spiky. His eyes narrowed as I approached him and he rubbed her scruffy chin. “What do ya want?” He sounded like a Nord.

“I’ve been looking to join a crew on a ship. I’ve been told you can help me.”

“What experience do ya have?” he asked as he looked me up and down.

“Well, on a ship, none. But I’m a strong warrior. I can hold my own.”

The man groaned and shook his head. “Another one.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked quickly, slightly offended by his tone.

“I know your type,” he growled. “You’re some fighter who’s all that on land, probably some mercenary or sellsword. Ya think the ocean’s no big deal because ya can cut up a few drunk bandits.” His tone became increasingly bitter and spiteful. “Tell me how that sword’s gonna help ya when the ship is being turned upside down with raging waves? How is it gonna help you when seawater is blinding you and filling your lungs as the deck is flooded? The ocean chews your kind up, and it don’t spit ya out neither. It swallows ya whole.”

I sighed and rubbed the back of my head, having really stopped listening to what he was saying. “I just want to get on the ship. I know you’re looking for people.”

He scoffed and crossed his arms. “We are. But it’s a dirty job. Too dirty for a pretty girl like you.”

I crossed my arms. “What is it?”

“We need a janitor. Someone to clean up the shit, piss, vomit, and whatever else comes out of the crew,” he chuckled as he spoke. 

I sighed. I actually had experience doing that, as the Fighters Guild made me clean up after the other members when I was a recruit. “Fine. I’ll do it.”

His eyes narrowed once again. “Ya sure? The only way off a ship before it reaches land is off the plank.” I nodded, though I wasn’t sure I still wanted to get on a ship if everyone was going to act like this guy. “Then you’re on the Afsar. Come find me tomorrow at midday on the pier. I’ll get ya settled on the ship. I’m First Mate Burn. Ya’d do well to remember that. What is ya name again, janitor?”

“Yvonne. And thank you,” I answered before I walked back over to the bar to order a drink. 

I went to the pier the next day, and found Burn. There was a long line of men slowly getting on a large ship, the Afsar. I got in line, and a few minutes later I reached Burn. “So, you’re actually here, janitor.” Burn sounded surprised. “Welcome aboard the Afsar. Your home for the next few weeks.” Burn actually sounded pretty inviting as he motioned for me to get onto the ship. 

I leaned on the edge of the ship, looking out at Sentinel as I was not sure what exactly to do. I noticed some of the crewmen staring at me and talking about me, so I turned to them and said. “If you have something to say about me, you can say it to my face.” I thought that establishing some dominance might be a good idea. 

“Nice ass!” One sailor yelled, which caused many of them to laugh. 

“Fuck you,” I growled as I looked back out at the city. The ship had just began taking off for the open ocean.

“Please do!” Another soldier howled, which caused more laughing. 

“Shut up! All of ya!” Burn shouted as he approached me. “Alright, janitor. When there’s a mess, you go down into the ship and ask the Quartermaster for your cleaning supplies. Besides that, just don’t get in the way of anyone else. And try not to be a distraction for the crew.”

“Yes, sir,” I answered.

“This is a ship. ‘Aye’ will do,” Burn laughed as he walked away. 

“Aye…” I said, a little embarrassed. 

Night came quickly, and with it so did dinner. A bowl of some sort of bland soup and a piece of bread were given to all of the crew members. Fires and lanterns were lit to illuminate the deck as we all ate. All of the rest of the crew seemed to have their own cliques and groups to eat with, while I sat some feet away from everyone else to eat alone. 

“Janitor!” I heard Burn yell as I ate. “Get over here.”

I slowly stood up and made my way over to Burn and a small group of the crew he was eating with, including the chef. This group was actually entertaining and pretty nice guys. 

“Hey chef, why don’t you tell the new girl about the Leviathan?” Burn said with his mouth full.

The chef was a very old Redguard. His beard was white and his eyes were cloudy. The chef smiled all the time, which showed that about half of his teeth were missing. “Okay, okay… I’ll tell you about the Leviathan.

“It was a calm, clear day. Thirty years ago. Almost in the same part of the sea that we’re in now. Our current captain and I were lowly sailors back then, and the first Afsar was nothing compared to this ship. Anyways, the captain was the first to say he saw the Leviathan. He said that he saw massive spines, thousands of them protruding from the water from the crow’s nest. No one took him seriously. Not even me! That is until the Leviathan rammed headfirst into the side of our ship and made a giant hole! That was when the destruction started. The Leviathan would swim by and take massive bites out of the ship. As men fell in the water, it would swallow them whole by leaping out of the ocean. Did I mention that it was twice the size of our ship!”

“How’d you survive, chef?” A young crewmember asked.

“I only survived because of our captain! And he was just a boy back then! He must have been barely a teenager! As the ship was mostly in the water, our captain managed to get hold of a harpoon. As the Leviathan charged at us and raised its head out of the water, our captain threw that harpoon straight into the beast’s eye and it fled! Our captain and I were the only two left alive, and unfortunately, the captain’s entire family was on the ship at that time… We were able to drift to Stros M’Kai on some driftwood.”

That story stuck with me, and really did scare me. I couldn’t imagine a sea creature like that. After dinner, I helped the chef clean his utensils in the kitchen.

“Hey, chef?” I asked.

“Yes, dear?” the chef replied.

“Why would you come back on the ocean after something like that happened to you?” I said as I cleaned some forks.

“I believe we only die when its our time to go. It wasn’t my time to go when we ran into that Leviathan. I’d reach my time whether I’m on the ocean or not, and I enjoy the ocean so here I am. It’s all up to fate, dear.” 

“So, you aren’t afraid of running into a Leviathan again?” 

“Not really. Leviathans are rare themselves, and maybe it won’t be my time to go even if I see another one.” The old chef laughed. 

I had trouble sleeping for the next couple nights. In fact, I had trouble functioning for the next couple days. I hated looking out at the ocean, which is not fun when it is surrounding you. I always thought out of the corner of my eye, that I saw something protruding from the water. 

A few nights later, while I was trying to sleep, a few drunk crewmembers came up to me. “Hello there, doll,” one of them said drunkenly. 

“What do we gotta do to get you to show us those tits?” Another one said with a laugh and drink in hand.

“Fuck off.” I sighed and tried to shoo them away.

“You think they care about women on this ship?” One of the men laughed as he suddenly threw himself on top of me and began to grope my chest. 

“Motherfucker!” I shouted as I kneed him in the gut and shoved him off of me, before quickly climbing to my feet.

“Bitch! Get her!” The man I attacked shouted as he rolled around on the ground. 

The three other men lunged at me, but the drunks were no match for me. I knocked the first man out with a mean uppercut, and kicked the next one in the face. The final man closed in on me quickly, and I dodged and tripped him, which sent the drunk stumbling off the side of the ship and into the water.

“Uh… Man overboard!” I shouted suddenly, which launched an effort to retrieve the man.

After the man was saved, I had to explain the situation to Burn. “Come with me. I’ll have to inform the cap’n about this.” Burn led me to the top of the ship, and told me to wait outside while he went in to talk to the captain. Fortunately, I could hear everything being said inside. 

“So, what happened Burn?” I heard a sexy, deep voice say.

“Well, Cap’n, I hired a woman to be our janitor. And some of the boys, ya know how they get, started to heckle her,” Burn explained.

“Oh! Another woman on board!” I heard a cheery, female voice. 

“By HoonDing, you might as well have hired a wench, Burn. At least then she would be expecting the crew to harass her.” The captain sighed. 

“She can hold her own. She’s a strong warrior, Cap’n,” Burn said defensively.

“I can tell. She tossed a man overboard.” I heard the captain chuckle.

“It’s my fault, Cap’n,” Burn apologized.

“Bring her in here. And go lecture the boys about how we treat women on this ship.” 

A few moments later, Burn came out of the room. “Cap’n wants to see you. Make sure you address him as Cap’n, or Captain, whatever.” Burn opened the door for me, and motioned for me to go inside. 

“Hello? Captain?” I said as I entered the room.

“Come in. Please take a seat.” I expected an intimidating, dirty man despite the handsome voice, but instead the captain was a well-dressed, well-groomed Redguard; more specifically, he was being groomed. Sitting behind the captain was a beautiful Redguard woman who was braiding the captain’s long black hair into thick braids like her own. Both of them wore ornate, Redguard garb. I sat down without saying a word, waiting for the captain to ask me a question.

“Feel free to pour yourself a drink.” The captain motioned to a bottle of wine and some empty glasses on the table that separated them and I. “Now, what is your name?” the captain asked in a nonchalant voice.

“Yvonne. Yvonne Marie.” I was nervous at first, but watching the woman braid the captain’s hair calmed me.

“I’m Captain Kaman, and this is my wife, Jawna.”

“It’s so nice to see another woman on this ship!” Jawna exclaimed happily, and I nodded and smiled.

“Excuse me if I’m wrong,” the captain said as he reached for the wine, and poured two glasses full. “But Marie is not a Redguard name, is it?”

I nodded again. “I was adopted by an Imperial and Breton family.”

“Ah.” The captain nodded as he took a sip of wine, and held the other glass out to me, which I accepted. “I hear you’re quite the warrior as well. Do you hold any ranks or titles?”

“I’m a Protector in the Fighters Guild back in Cyrodiil.”

“And how did you find yourself aboard my ship?” as Kaman spoke, Jawna finished braiding his hair, and sat down on the arm of his chair. 

I took a sip of wine; it was rich. “To be honest, I’ve lived in Cyrodiil my whole life, surrounded by Imperials and all sorts of other races, without another Redguard in sight. I wanted to go back to my roots, and find out what being a Redguard truly meant.”

Kaman smiled as he looked down at his red wine. “I understand the feeling…” Kaman said somberly, but with a chuckle.

“What do you mean?” I relaxed in my chair. 

Kaman slowly stood up, and walked over to a window looking out at the ocean. “Even us Yokudans from Hammerfell want to go back to our true home. I’ve had many nights where I’ve dreamed of visiting Yokuda.” 

I knew very little about Yokuda, except that it was where Redguards originally came from.

“I always hope that one day when I’m out on the ocean…” the captain paused to drink as he stared longingly out at the sea. “Yokuda will spring up out of the water.”

Jawna walked over to Kaman, and put her hand on his shoulder. Kaman smiled before turning back to me, “I hope your time on this ship will bring you what you’re looking for.”

“Me too.” I sipped my wine and smiled. “I hope one day you’ll find what you’re searching for.”

“I will,” the captain chuckled before he turned to me. “You’re dismissed. Next time someone messes with you, rough ‘em up, but please don’t throw them off the ship.”

“Baby,” Jawna said suddenly. “Can’t we give her a less demeaning job than janitor?”

“Hm… Perhaps,” Kaman said while rubbing his beard.

“It’s fine,” I told them. “I don’t want any special privilege, or the others will never respect me.”

Kaman grinned at me. “I couldn’t have said it better myself. See you around the ship.”

I smiled, and left the room. 

A few days later, we arrived at Stros M’Kai, and I took in the sights of the island. After a couple days there, we started the trip back to Hammerfell. Funny enough, none of the crew happened to harass me at all after the first incident. 

One day into our trip back, Jawna met me on the ship. “Hey, Yvonne,” Jawna said as she approached me. “Have you ever wanted to go on the crow’s nest?” 

I looked up at the tall, thin tower above me; I’m not the most fearless when it comes to heights. “Are you sure?” I asked.

“Of course! You get the most lovely view of the ocean! And you’ll always see some kind of animal jumping out of the water.”

The thought of that wasn’t too appealing, but I realized that this may be my only opportunity to be on a crow’s nest. Jawna and I slowly climbed up into the crow’s nest. The view of the ocean was beautiful, especially because the sky and water was a creamy orange color as the sun approached the sea. 

“It is really pretty,” I told her as I stared out at the ocean. 

“Isn’t it!?” Jawna exclaimed, before she began recalling some tale of her watching a huge school of fish leap from the water.

I was hardly paying attention to her story as I was marveling at the seascape. That was, until I saw something very disturbing. I watched as a row of giant spines protruded out of the water for a brief moment.

“Jawna! Look!” I suddenly grabbed her shoulder as I pointed out at the ocean, but the spines were gone.

“What? Are you okay?” Jawna asked me with a puzzled voice. 

“I just saw these huge spines come out of the water!” I told her; I was shaking with fear. I knew that had to be a Leviathan; it was just as the old chef described it.

“Are you sure?” Jawna asked; fear was clear in her voice.

“I mean… I think.” I rubbed my neck. “They just came right out of the water and went back down.”

“We should probably tell Kam—” Jawna and I both suddenly screamed as the ship shook heavily and almost threw us both off of the crow’s nest. 

I could hear panic and yelling coming from the ship now, and saw everyone scrambling around as I looked below us. 

“We hit somethin’!” I heard a crewmember yell. 

“Port side has been damaged!” another yelled.

“There’s a hole in the ship!” 

“What the fuck is that!?” 

After those words, the ship shook again. Jawna tumbled over the edge of the crow’s nest. I quickly grabbed for her and just barely got ahold of her arm, stopping her from plummeting dozens of feet down to the ship.

“It’s a Leviathan!” 

As I stared down at Jawna and the ship beneath her, I slowly began pulling her up until I watched the Leviathan swim up and tear a huge chunk of the front of the ship off with its massive bite— taking at least a dozen men into the ocean. The ship jostled so much that I could no longer hold onto Jawna, and she let out a scream as she fell into the water below. 

I knew I’d be joining her in the water soon, as the ship was beginning to tip over. I quickly grabbed onto the rope ladder, as the Leviathan came and took another bite of the front of the ship, and now only half of it was left. Luckily, I was able to hold onto the rope as the ship began turning over slowly and shook violently. I slowly, and carefully, began to climb down. Below me, I could see the rest of the crew firing arrows and magic into the water in an attempt to hit the monster.

Once I managed to get back on the deck, Kaman ran up to me; a large harpoon was in his hands. “Where’s Jawna!?” he shouted over the chaos.

“She fell in the water!” I yelled back.

Suddenly, I heard screams come from the crew members. I looked to my left, and finally got a good look at the Leviathan. The massive, pale blue reptilian creature was covered in spiky skin, and as it opened its mouth to attack the ship, I could see that its teeth were almost as large as my torso. I moved away from the left side of the ship as the Leviathan killed almost twenty men and swallowed a quarter of the ship. Only a quarter of the ship was left. 

“Captain!” The old chef shouted to our right; he was one of the few members of the crew still on the ship. “You know what we have to do.” Kaman nodded, with tears in his eyes. The two hugged, and I could hear the chef say, “Thank you for everything.”

The chef suddenly leapt into the water, and tears now streamed down Kaman’s face. The Leviathan revealed itself from the water, and it now charged straight for the chef. Even as the monster came at him with its wide, gaping maw, I swear the chef still smiled. Kaman prepared to throw the harpoon as the Leviathan approached the chef. 

However, as if the Leviathan knew what was happening, it sunk its head into the water right as Kaman threw the harpoon. A moment later, the chef was dragged under the water. 

“No…!” Kaman cried out as the harpoon only managed to stick into the Leviathan’s back, and it continued its rampage of swallowing crew members who were stuck in the water. 

Kaman looked at me; the calm, well-kept captain of before was gone. He now shook with anger, and I could see the hate in his stare. “If we stab its eye, it will flee,” he said to me between his teeth. “It’s our only chance.”

I unsheathed my long claymore. “Maybe we—”

“Kaman!” Jawna suddenly shouted from the water. 

Kaman and I quickly peered over the side of the ship, and saw Jawna in the water calling for us— with the Leviathan approaching. 

Kaman began to leap over the edge of the ship to her, before I grabbed his shoulder. “That thing will eat you both!” I shouted. 

“She’s all I have left!” Kaman pushed me aside and jumped into the water with Jawna. 

As I watched the Leviathan approach the lovers, I realized that in the same bite he would get them, he would most likely take the rest of the ship and I with it. That’s when I knew I had to do something. I held my claymore tight, and stood at the edge of the ship. “Get as close to the ship as you can!” I shouted as loudly as I could at Kaman and Jawna. 

They listened, and swam closer to the ship. My breath got heavy and I began to shake; I knew this was my only chance to survive. As the Leviathan approached the ship with its mouth open, I suddenly jumped off of the ship with my claymore pointed downward. I managed to hit my mark exactly, and I was able to stab my claymore directly into the monster’s large, black eye. My attack must have sent the Leviathan off course as it now ran headfirst into the remaining part of the ship instead of taking a bite. After the Leviathan hit the ship, I let go of my sword and went crashing down into the water. 

Unfortunately, as I went under the water, I couldn’t muster the strength to swim to the top due to an extreme pain in my thigh. I held my breath as long as I could, but I was sure I was going to drown after being under for several seconds. Thankfully, I felt someone wrap their arms around me and bring me up to the surface, where I gasped for air and coughed up salty seawater. 

I couldn’t hear anything due to the roaring water, or see anything due to being splashed in the face every few seconds. However, I was soon lifted up onto a large piece of wood. 

“Aye! Janitor!” I heard Burn ask. “You alive?!” 

I slowly turned my head to him and nodded.

Burn grinned and patted my chest. “You’re fuckin’ crazy! Ya know that!?”

“Is it dead?” I said before coughing.

“I don’t know, but the damned thing swam away,” Burn said with a laugh as he lifted himself onto the large, sturdy piece of wood.

I sat up and looked at my leg, which felt like it was on fire. I gasped as I saw a massive spike, the size of my head, from the Levithan’s skin was lodged halfway into my thigh. “Oh Gods…”

“That’s a nasty wound… Don’t worry, I’ll patch ya right up.” Burn slowly removed the spike, causing me to cry and scream out in pain, before he started to use a healing spell on the damaged area of my thigh. 

“You’re a healer?” I asked as I let out pained sighs.

“I know a bit of healin’. It comes in handy.”

“Yvonne! You saved us!” Jawna exclaimed, as her and Kaman swum up to us.

“That was amazing…” Kaman added with a sigh. “If you ever need anything… We are in your debt…”

I sighed. “Thank you… But what I really need right now is to get away from the ocean…”

“We’re at the mercy of the ocean now…” Kaman looked out on the wreckage of his ship. “These next few days won’t be easy, but we can make it. We owe it to all those who died today…”

Eventually, the four of us and a few other survivors managed to drift back to Stros M’Kai. We were suffering from dehydration and near starvation, but we were glad to be alive. We took a ship back to Hammerfell, and I returned home with a new appreciation of life.


	20. Chapter 20 - Camille

“Yvonne,” Cassandra said as Yvonne finished her story. “Are you afraid of the ocean now?”

“A little…” Yvonne sat back and relaxed in her chair. “But the chef’s words echo in my head. I’ll die when it’s my time to go.”

Cassandra nodded, and sunk in her seat.

“I’m going to go next,” Camille spoke up. “That story paints nature in such a bad way! I’m going to tell you about the good part of nature.”

\--

Once our parents finally let me move out of the house about nine or so years ago, I decided to live amongst nature. Truthfully, it was a lot more difficult than I expected. I couldn’t live on plants and berries like I’d planned to, and I eventually had to hunt the small, cute, furry creatures in the Great Forest. It was difficult for me to do so, at first, but I realized that nature had to take its course. Kynareth created nature like that for a reason, after all.

After a couple months in the Great Forest, I discovered the secret spriggan grove that I’ve taken most of you to. I was too scared to ever approach them, but I sat and watched them from the brush surrounding the grove. I watched them do all kinds of things. I even watched how they create their young. I had always suspected spriggans were created fully grown, but that’s not how it works at all. They grow out of the ground small and young, and are taught by the older spriggans. 

I made it a routine to watch the spriggans every day for months. Sometimes they would look at me, but they did not seem to mind my presence as I did not disturb them. It was always a peaceful, calming experience... until Hircine’s Hounds arrived. 

The sun was setting on another peaceful day at the grove, and the spriggans were preparing to sleep. At this point, I no longer hid on the outskirts of the grove, and instead just kept a safe distance from the spirrgans. I packed my things, and began to head out of the grove. As soon as I pushed through the bushes to exit, I heard a very faint, but high pitched noise for a few seconds. After the noise was gone, I heard quite a few thumps and some splashes in the grove. I turned around to see what the commotion was, and all of the spriggans— about a dozen —had collapsed onto the ground or into the water. 

Before I could rush over to try to help them, I saw a group of six hunters come out of the brush across the grove. They were all covered in intricate outfits, covered in all kinds of leaves and brush for camouflage. Although they wore hoods and masks, even the small part of their faces that was visible was painted the color of the forest. 

“Damn! That thing does work!” I heard a loud, obnoxious male voice come from the tallest— and lankiest —of the group. 

“Tie them up. Quickly!” A stern, menacing female voice came from a woman wearing a helmet fashioned from a wolf’s skull. The rest of the hunters quickly dispersed and began tying the Spriggans arms and legs together.

“Hoo boy! This haul is gonna get us rich!” the loud male exclaimed.

“You aren’t getting anything if you don’t shut your mouth!” the woman growled, as I watched her examine a whistle that was attached to a necklace. “Hurry up. Savash is waiting for us. Glory to the Hunt!” 

The rest of the hunters uttered a quiet, but enthusiastic, “Glory to the Hunt!” 

I did not know exactly what these hunters were doing, but I knew I could not let them do it. I suddenly hopped out of the bushes and yelled, “Stop!” 

All of the hunters immediately drew their bows at me, and I froze out of fear. “Bows down,” the leader said as she approached me with her arms on her hips. 

“We got ourselves a wild child!” the loud male yelled, causing the others to chuckle. At that point, my hair was a mess and I was wearing a patchwork dress made of leaves and animal skin.

“What are you doing here?” the woman asked me, standing just a few inches from me and almost towering over me. I could see she had bright blue eyes under her wolf helmet. 

I looked up at her with a serious face. “You cannot take these spriggans away! This is their home!” I said angrily. 

The woman patted my head, and I could tell she was smiling under her mask as her eyes squinted slightly. “It’s all part of the circle of life. The predators hunt the prey,” she spoke sweetly.

I shook my head suddenly. “You did not hunt them fairly!”

“Oh? Did we not?” The woman glanced up for a moment, before locking eyes with me again. “Do wolves, birds, and other animals not evolve to hunt their prey?” 

I didn’t answer, because she was right.

“Men and Mer, too, evolve to hunt their prey.” I watched her smile again.

“Those animals evolve through centuries and millenniums. They don’t develop cheap tools! Kynareth would never approve of this!” I continued to shout in anger.

“Kynareth?” The woman laughed, and so did the rest of the hunters. “Kynareth is weak! Hircine is the true god of the Wild! Glory to the Hunt!” The other hunters echoed that phrase.

While she was speaking, I noticed that the spriggans began to get unruly. My eyes fell to the whistle. I knew the spriggans could defend themselves, but I needed to make sure she would not use the whistle again. 

“Even Hircine would give his prey a fair chance!” I shouted before grabbing the whistle and ripping it off of the woman’s neck, and slapping her at the same time.

“Bitch!” The woman yelled as she recovered quickly and punched me in the face, which sent me to the ground. She jumped on top of me and put her hands around my neck; she began squeezing hard and choking me. 

I tried pushing her off and scratching at her, but I was rather weak due to my new, sparse diet of feeding off the land. I was sure I saw going to die, until I watched a swarm of wasps cover her face and force her to let go of my throat, and roll off of me. 

I sat up slowly and gasped for air, now rubbing my sore neck. Around me, I watched as Spriggans battled the hunters. The Spriggan Matron— the largest and most senior spriggan —ran by me and started attacking the leader of the hunters. I looked at the whistle that was in my hand, and knew that I needed to destroy it. It was made out of wood, so I simply burned it with a flame spell and threw the ashes onto the ground. 

It seemed as though the spriggans would win their fight, until I heard another high pitch whistle that disabled the spriggans once again. I looked around for the source, and saw that the tall man also had a whistle. I wanted to stay and help the spriggans, but I knew I needed to leave. I turned to quickly run away, but I felt a sudden pain in my leg and I fell to the ground while gasping in pain. I looked down and saw an arrow in my calf. I tried to keep crawling away, but before I could get anywhere, someone grabbed me by my hair and dragged me back towards the grove.

“Why in Oblivion did you shoot her!?” I heard the woman shout suddenly. 

“She was gettin’ away!” the tall man answered.

“I don’t give a damn if she gets away! No one would’ve given a damn if some spriggans were killed, but now you shot someone!” the woman growled. “Now she’s a loose end… Tie her up, and blindfold her. Savash will decide her fate.” I found it odd how angry she was, given that she had just choked me a few moments earlier.

I tried crying for help, but before I knew it, I was hogtied, blindfolded, and gagged. I was thrown into some kind of closed carriage with the spriggans, and I could feel their rough, wooden skin up against mine. I shook with fear during the whole trip, surely they were not going to let me live, I thought. 

A few hours later, I was taken out of the carriage and dragged on my knees into a cold area. I heard people talking and congratulating the hunters as I was dragged along. 

“Great Hunter, we retrieved the spriggans, but we ran into an issue,” the woman from earlier said. 

“I can see that, Isanoa…” I heard a warm, gentle voice. “Take those bindings off the poor girl. She’s shaking like a newborn pup.”

My blindfold, gag, and bindings were quickly taken off, and I saw a man with a full brown beard, glowing smile and tired eyes looking at me. I looked around quickly, and saw dozens of people around this large, furnished area of a cave going about their business. 

My gaze turned back to the bearded man, the Great Hunter. He was covered in animal fur, and even had a headdress made out a deer’s skull and antlers. We stared at each other for a moment, not saying a word. I tried to slowly stand up, which caused Isanoa— the female hunter from earlier —to grab my shoulder and push me back onto my knees. Without saying a word, the Great Hunter simply held up his hand, and Isanoa let go.

The silence was beginning to make me feel more uncomfortable that I already was, so I asked fearfully, “Where am I?”

The man chuckled quietly. “We like to call it the Hound House.”

I looked around again. I was shaking, still scared for my life. “Oh.”

“What is your name?” the Great Hunter asked.

“Camille…” I answered hesitantly. 

“A very nice Breton name,” he commented. “I’m Savash, the Great Hunter, the Hound of Hircine.” 

“I would say it is nice to meet you, but…” I began to say.

“I know, I know,” Savash said in a disappointed tone. “I apologize for the binding and such. We just do important work here and it cannot be put in danger.” 

“And what about the spriggans? Why did you rip them from their home?” I started to speak aggressively. 

Savash nodded and put his hands behind his back. “I’m sure your first impression of us wasn’t great, but I assure you that we love nature as much as you do.” I gave him a skeptical glare. “I will show you! Come with me.”

Savash began walking away, and I tried to stand. “Ah!” I let out a cry of pain as I tried to stand on my leg, which still had the wound from the arrow.

“What’s the matter?” Savash asked as I collapsed to my knees again.

“Your hunters shot me…” I said through my teeth.

“Oh, Isanoa, I think she deserves an apology,” Savash said to the woman still standing next to me.

Isanoa let out an audibly loud sigh as she pulled off her wolf skull helmet. “I’m sorry,” she said sarcastically. 

“Hm.” Savash rubbed his beard. “Go fetch the shaman to heal up our guest.”

Isanoa rolled her eyes before walking away, and returning a few moments later with another woman. The shaman healed me quickly, and patched up the wound. She helped me stand, and aside from some soreness in my leg, I felt fine. 

“Now then,” Savash began walking away with his arms behind his back. “This way, Camille.”

I followed behind him. Escape was on my mind, but it seemed completely unrealistic with the number of warriors in this large cave. I followed Savash through some tunnels, until we arrived at a beautiful underground grotto inhabited by dozens of spriggans. The grotto was not very large, but it had a small tree and plenty of vegetation, growing due to sunlight feeding through a hole at the roof of the cave high above. 

“It’s beautiful,” I said, quite astounded by the sight.

“Isn’t it a perfect home for the spriggans?” Savash sighed happily as he looked out at the grotto. 

“But it isn’t,” I said as I turned to him. “Spriggans need to be out in nature. Protecting the forests and wildlife. Why do you keep them here?”

“This will be difficult for you to understand, Camille. It was for me too, but it is necessary,” Savash said with a sigh before he turned to me. “Do you know of the Reachmen?”

I shook my head. 

“The Reachmen are a group of people who have faced discrimination, genocides, and more unspeakable crimes at the hands of Skyrim and Daggerfall, yet they continue to persist. Currently in Skyrim, they are being exterminated and hunted down, all for wanting control of their own homeland. The land their people have lived on since the dawn of time.” Savash occasionally glanced back at the spriggans during his tale.

“What does that have to do with the spriggans?” I asked.

“It is unfortunate, but, the spriggans must be sacrificed, and their bodies harvested for the Reach’s cause.”

“What!?” I said with anger. “You can’t kill them!”

“Camille, please,” Savash tried to calm me. “I understand your anger, but it is a necessary evil.”

I crossed my arms. “I can’t believe you’d do such a thing to them. You’re evil!” I yelled.

Savash seemed to nod sadly. “I thought you’d see it our way…” Savash locked eyes with me, and suddenly I felt my muscles tense up. I was suddenly frozen where I stood, unable to move anything though I was fully conscious. “Perhaps in time, you will.”

Savash had paralyzed me, and he carried me over into a large cage in a dark, small room of the cave. He gently placed my motionless body inside; there were also two spriggans in the cage. After Savash walked away, one of the spriggans— a large, Spriggan Matron —moved over to me and my body became enveloped in a bright green light. As the warm light surrounded me, I slowly regained movement of my body. 

“Thank you,” I said her as I slowly sat up. She didn’t respond, but I think she got the message. I actually recognized the two spriggans, because they were from the grove in the Great Forest. There are differences between each spriggan that makes them unique. 

I crawled over to the bars of the cage, and gripped them to see how sturdy they were. They were solid, and the large cave did not budge when I shook the bars. I continued trying to open the cell door, until the spriggan mother placed her large, wooden hand onto my shoulder. I slowly turned my head towards her, and we started at each other for a moment. Her glowing, soothing orange eyes told me to be calm, and so I let go of the cell bars and relaxed. 

For a few hours, I just sat around the cell. Most of the time, I watched the spriggan matron, examining every small detail of her beauty. They really are the most majestic of Kynareth’s creatures. At one point, the spriggan matron slowly approached the cell door. She placed her hands on the bars, and squeezed the bars. After she squeezed the bars, she pressed herself against the door as hard as she could. After a few attempts at pushing, the lock on the cell door broke off and the door flew open. The spriggan matron barely caught herself from spilling onto the floor. 

The spriggan matron left the cell, and motioned for me and the other spriggan to follow. We snuck through the cave tunnels, and approached the opening to the grotto. There was a single guard turned toward the grotto, watching the spriggans. The spriggan matron snuck up behind him; with one of her large, wooden hands she covered the guards mouth, and she stabbed her other wooden hand through his back. She held him until he fell limp, and she casually tossed him to the ground. 

At least thirty spriggans left the grotto and crowded around us. The spriggan matron lifted her hands, and they emitted a bright glow, and hornets began to swarm around her hand; the other spriggans did the same. The spriggan matron down at me, as she was several inches taller, and pointed at the exit of the grotto. I assumed that she wanted me to lead them all, so I nodded and began walking through the caves tunnels to the exit of the cave. I was ready to fight, as the spriggans were too. 

At the exit of the tunnel that led to the main area of the cave, Savash was waiting for us at the entrance. “Well, well, where do you think you’re going?” he said nonchalantly.

“What you’re doing is wrong, and we’re not going to let you murder harmless spriggans!” I shouted back at him, ready to conjure flames at Savash.

“Harmless?” he chuckled. “They sure don’t look very harmless.” Savash sighed and stretched his arms. “I was hoping you’d see things our way. You’re such a passionate girl, and you could’ve been a big help to our cause.”

“Hmph!” I readied my flames. 

“Oh well. I’ll put you down if I—” Suddenly, a shriek stopped Savash.

“Great Hunter! Great Hunter!” Isanoa came running and shouting, only glancing at the small spriggan army for a moment. “The Silver Hand is here! Their numbers are massive!”

“The Silver Hand?” Savash shook his head and turned away from us. “Hircine give me strength…” he muttered under his breath. “Isanoa handle this.” Savash ordered before he ran away from us, barking orders at other hunters around. 

Isanoa turned to to all of us, and said sadly, “I’d get out of here while you can. The Silver Hand will murder all of you too.” Isanoa started walking towards us quickly, but casually and with no weapons drawn. She simply walked passed the spriggans and deeper into the cave.

I had no idea who the Silver Hand were, but I knew I didn’t want to mess with them and I contemplated going back into the tunnels and trying to find another escape route. That’s when something caught my eye. I watched as Savash, and a group of other hunters, suddenly fell to their knees. They all growled and shuddered in pain as they began to change. It happened so quickly that I could hardly believe my eyes; Savash and the hunters turned into huge werewolves!

As they completed their transformation, a large group of dozens of warriors began firing crossbows at them. The werewolves charged at the warriors, and the fight was on. I had no idea what was happening at the front of the cave, but I knew this might be our only chance to slip by. I began running towards the front of the cave, with the spriggans following behind me. We got passed the fighting, and had to move through another tunnel. At the end of the tunnel, there was more fighting, but it was obvious who was winning. Many werewolves and hunters laid dead across the cave, with only a few resisting. I could see light feeding through an exit to the cave, but these Silver Hand warriors were everywhere, and they were as brutal as I imagined. One group of Silver Hand had a group of werewolves bound and placed against a wall, where they were executed by a firing squad of crossbowmen. 

As I watched the scene, I saw one Silver Hand aim towards us and fire. He hit a spriggan, who fell to the ground in pain. We had no choice but to fight our way out as all of the Silver Hand turned towards us and began firing. The spriggans spread out and began fighting; I did my own part as I began shooting flames at the nearest Silver Hand. Unfortunately, it was obvious the Silver Hand had the upper hand as spriggan after spriggan began to fall. I tried helping a spriggan up until I was hit in the shoulder by a crossbow bolt that sent me to the floor. I cried out on the ground from the pain. I looked up and saw a warrior standing above me, crossbow aimed at my head. Suddenly, the crossbowman was decapitated and his head fell down onto me. I quickly threw it off of me, and saw that my savior was none other than the spriggan matron. 

The spriggan matron grabbed my hand, and began dragging me away somewhere. I could see the spriggan numbers getting smaller and smaller every second. Only five remained that I could count before I heard someone shout, “Stop! Stop! Stop fighting!” It took a moment, but the fighting slowly ceased; even the spriggans no longer fought. I turned my head to see what was going on, and hooded man in robes ran over to a heavily armored warrior. “Stop killing them! They aren’t daedric!”

“You sure? They look pretty threatening to me,” the warrior growled.

“No, no. They are Kyne’s children!” the hooded man exclaimed. 

“Are they worth anything?” the warrior slowly put down his weapon.

“No! You fool! Is everything about money with you people!?” the hooded man spoke condescendingly. 

“Maybe if the Vigilants of Stendarr cared more about money, you wouldn’t need us to do your dirty work,” the warrior snarled. “Let them go,” he ordered to the rest of the Silver Hand, who stood down.

The hooded man walked over to me, and the spriggan matron helped me stand up. “Oh, sweet child of Kyne. You must forgive them. They do not know any better,” he said. “Did the werewolves have you all held captive?”

I nodded, letting out groans as I looked at the bolt lodged in my shoulder. 

“Let me heal that for you.” The man said before removing the bolt and healing my wounds, which helped a lot. “Where did you come from?”

“Um, Chorrol,” I answered.

“Chorrol?” The man sounded shocked. “They must be getting desperate for spriggans…” he muttered. “Do you know where we are?” I shook my head. “We’re just at the base of the Jerall Mountains… It is a rather long walk back to Chorrol. Do you need anything for the trip?”

So, the Vigilants of Stendarr gave me some food and water, and the remaining spriggans and I made our way back to the Great Forest. I went back home to Chorrol for a few days, before returning to the spriggan grove to check on the spriggans. 

When I arrived, I saw the spriggan matron caring for a group of young, newly grown spriggans. Each spriggan had a wolf pup, and they were trying to perfect their control over animals. The spriggan matron motioned for me to come over, and I did. The spriggan matron had a wolf pup by her feet, and she lifted it up and handed it to me. After giving me the pup, she motioned to the other spriggans who were training. I figured she wanted me to train with them, but I had no idea how to cast spells that would get animals to listen to me. So, I decided to do it my own way. Instead of casting a spell on the pup, I simply raised it and took care of it while it grew. I am sure you could guess that the pup is Serene. 

I did eventually learn the animal allegiance spell through a lot of watching and practice, but I am proud to say I never had to use it on Serene. Since then, I have been very close with the spriggans. They have taught me some of their secrets, and I taught them some human tricks. The spriggan matron even calls on me to help teach the newly grown spriggans from time to time, and that is why I consider myself a spriggan too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is going to be a long one... It's about twice the length of the longest chapter of this story so far.


	21. Emeline

Camille’s story left the room speechless. There were a few seconds of eyes scanning the room before someone spoke up.

“I guess… I’ll tell my story next,” Emeline said slowly, but with a small smile. “I think I’ll tell you all about how I met my husband…”

\----

Four years ago, my boyfriend and business partner at the time was a Breton named Louis Verillion; we had been together only a couple months before the events of this story. We made speciality and rare potions, much like Silvayth and I do now. However, for a while, we were continually commissioned to make a very strange potion that Louis called “Rest-Easy.” As the name suggests, Rest-Easy was supposed to induce a speedy, natural recovery from fatigue, increase one’s mood and have other effects that would help someone rest easy. 

While the potion seemed like a great idea, I was always unsure of its ingredients. Monkshood, Tiger Lily, Emetic Russula, Bonemeal, and a mix of other ingredients seemed like it would create an extremely mind-numbing drug. However, I decided to ignore my concerns about; at least until it became the only potion that we were producing. 

Day and night, Louis and I would slave over our alchemy tables producing more and more Rest-Easy. Every other week, a group of Dunmer would come to our shop and take cases of Rest-Easy. We were so focused on producing it that we basically ignored any other customer. 

One rainy night, nearing the end of another near 12 hour work day, Louis told me to stop working. 

“Stop?” I yawned. It felt like the first time I had stopped making Rest Easy in months.

“Stop,” Louis said as he took his glasses off and set down a letter he had been reading. “We’re not making another drop until we get paid properly.”

“But, Louis,” I slowly climbed off the stool I was sitting at. “This stuff is making us rich. We barely have enough room for all the septims, and you want more?” 

Louis rolled his eyes. “Honey, this potion is so important. Its true value is worth a million times more than we get paid.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask you,” I approached Louis slowly; he was sitting at his desk. “How exactly is this potion being used? It seems very… well, druglike.”

“Honey,” Louis stood from his desk and stepped over to hug me in front of the fire in our fireplace. “It’s true. The potion may seem very dilapidating to men, but it’s rather safe for the elves to consume.”

“Oh.” I sunk into his arms, worn out from the day’s work. 

“In fact, we may need to take a trip to Morrowind ourselves.” 

“Hm?” I looked up at him.

“Rest-Easy has become such a hit in Morrowind, that it seems we’ll have to renegotiate our deal with the Dark Elves. So we can get paid properly.”

I yawned. “Perhaps… We can hire some help.”

“Perhaps.” Louis rubbed the back of my head and held it against his chest. “But I know that we are the two best alchemists around, and I fear hiring others might degrade the quality of our potions.”

“I suppose…” I sighed; truthfully, the 12 hour work days of constantly creating Rest-Easy were too much for me. 

Louis kissed the top of my head, and slowly moved me off of him. “Go get some sleep. I need to write one more letter, and then I’ll join you.”

I nodded, and headed to our bedroom. As I shuffled out of my clothes and climbed into bed, I thought about Morrowind. I had never really been anywhere but Chorrol and the Imperial City, much less Morrowind. I also thought it was strange that we would have to travel to Morrowind, instead of someone coming to us to discuss our payment.

My eyes then moved to a massive pile of septims on our bedroom floor. I was not kidding when I said we did not know what to do with all the money. I hardly thought we needed more; we could retire peacefully with what we had, even in our 20s. 

Finally, my eyes shifted to Louis. I watched him stretch in front of the fire. His pale skin— not unlike my own— glowed in the fire’s light. He was a tall and thin man, with his brown hair always neatly combed even after the longest work days. He was the son of the count’s steward, so he always had money and some influence. In fact, we only met because of a special dinner the count held to honor veterans of the Great War. 

Due to his upbringing, Louis was rather talented in many aspects. He was a skilled alchemist, musician, and was educated. Louis was also rather attractive, and generally a nice enough person, so he seemed like the perfect partner. However, he had some character flaws that you’ll see as the rest of the story goes on… 

Fortunately for me, Louis was serious when he said we were done with Rest-Easy for now. The next couple weeks were very enjoyable. I got to go back to experimenting on my own personal alchemy projects, as well as spend some time with friends and family. However, one morning, I woke up to find Louis packing things into boxes and bags.

I yawned and rubbed my eyes as I woke up. “What are you doing?” I asked Louis, who was a few feet from bed.

“Packing,” Louis replied. “We’re going to Morrowind today.”

“Today?!” I said, rather shocked. He had not mentioned it since that night some weeks ago.

“Yes, today. Our guards will be here today.”

“Guards? We need guards?”

Louis sighed. “Yes, Morrowind is not as… civilized as Cyrodiil.” Louis continued packing. “And these guards better be worth it for what I’m paying them…” he mumbled under his breath. 

A few hours later, there was a knock at the door. 

“Answer it,” Louis told me. “And let them in.”

I walked over to the door, and opened it. There was a single figure standing in the door. Its armor was rather chilling, and unsettling. The armor and helmet was clearly made out of some large insect shells, and I stared into the eyes of the helmet. The tiny glass circles. I could see my reflection in them, and the frightened look on my face.

After a few seconds of silently staring at each other, the figure muttered in a deep, raspy voice. “Is this the Verillion household?”

“It is…” I mumbled as I slowly stepped aside. “Come in.”

“Thank you, sera,” the figure, clearly a Dunmer, said. He turned his head and said, louder this time, “This is the house.”

“Good, good!” a much more cheery, but still raspy voice came from behind the Dunmer. The armored Dunmer walked into our house first, and behind him was a rather portly Dunmer who wore armor but no helmet. His red hair was in a ponytail, and he had a thick moustache. “Nice to meet you, sera!” the portly Dunmer kissed my hand before walking into the house. 

“Hold on. There are only two of you!?” Louis sounded shocked when he laid eyes on the Dunmer. “I ordered a dozen guards!” 

“Please please, Mister Verillion,” the portly Dunmer smiled as he spoke. “The rest of the guard will be waiting for us in Morrowind. I’ll have you know that the two of us alone are well worth your money!”

Louis grumbled, before sighing. “Fine. Did you at least bring the carriage we ordered?”

“Uh…” Louis audibly groaned after the Dunmer began to say something. “The carriage is also in Morrowind… But you won’t have to walk! We have something just as good.”

Louis narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean?”

“Deras! Go bring the luxury cart to the door!” the portly Dunmer ordered.

Deras— the taller and much more athletic-looking Dunmer —nodded. “Yes, sera.” Deras quickly left the house.

“You can call me Hilan, by the way,” the portly Dunmer said with a proud grin. “And if you don’t mind, Mister Verillion, we’d like the up-front payment now.”

Louis rolled his eyes, and handed Hilan a bag of septims. Meanwhile, I watched Deras from the doorway. I could not help but giggle as I watched him pull up the ‘luxury cart,’ which was nothing more than a wagon barely large enough for two people to sit in. 

“Are you serious?” Louis brought his hand to his face as he saw the wagon. “THAT is what you expect us to ride? Where is the horse?” Louis began to get a bit angry. 

“Deras will be your horse! He’s a young, fresh recruit. He has the strength of an ox!” Hilan kept up his grin and cheery attitude.

“A recruit!? We paid for your best men!” Louis protested before sighing. “We’d rather walk than be seen riding that…” he uttered while shaking his head. “Are you ready to go?” Louis asked me. 

“I think so…” I truly had no idea how long the trip, so I did not know how many clothes I should have packed. 

“Good. I guess we’ll have to load our things onto that wagon… Handle it please, will you?” Louis said to me before walking into our room.

I sighed and started putting things into the wagon. Most of our luggage consisted of cases of Rest-Easy and septims. As I went back and forth between the house and the wagon, Deras approached me and asked, “Would ya’ like some help?” 

“That’d be great. Thank you.” I smiled at him, and wondered what his face looked like under that helmet. 

“Your house is very nice,” Deras said to me as we carried some boxes to the wagon.

“Y-You think so? I’m not much of a designer...” I said with a giggle. 

“Well, you coulda’ fooled me.” I could hear the positivity in Deras’ raspy tone. 

After we were all packed, we left Chorrol for Morrowind. We were traveling to the city of Mournhold, the old capital of Morrowind and a currently rebuilding city. The few day trip through Cyrodiil was smooth, until we saw an Imperial checkpoint along the border in the distance. 

“Alright. There’s the border,” Hilan exclaimed. “Now, you got two options, Mister Verillion.”

“Two options?” Louis asked.

“Yeah,” Hilan continued, “The guards ain’t gonna let us through with this stuff. You could try to pay ‘em off, or we could head through a little ravine that goes straight into Morrowind.” 

“Hm… Tell me more about this ravine,” Louis said as we stopped walking. I was rather confused; why would we need to pay off the Imperial guards? There was free passage between Morrowind and Cyrodiil. 

“Can’t say much. Never took it myself. Just know it exists,” Hilan answered. “Know anything about it, Deras?” Deras shook his head.

Louis groaned and rubbed his temples. “What good are you two?” he mumbled to himself. “We’ll take the ravine.” 

As we made our way into the nearby forest, and then down into a cave, the idea that we needed to avoid the Imperial guards stayed burned in my mind. However, I decided it was best not to ask right now. 

Halfway through the cave, we reached the ravine. It was a beautiful scene; sunlight peered through cracks in the cave ceiling and made the cave walls glimmer as it reflected off of a small stream along the ground. Unfortunately, we did not have long to take in the sights as a group of six men suddenly appeared behind some large boulders and stepped in front of us. 

“Well, well, well… What do we have here?” one of the men said deviously as he slowly approached us. “Someone trying to illegally cross the border? Must have some pretty good cargo.” The men all looked rather dirty and rough, so they must have been bandits.

“Hilan…” I heard Louis say quietly. “Are you two going to handle this?”

“Relax!” Hilan exclaimed suddenly. “Take care of these ruffians, Deras.”

The bandits laughed. “Ya want a fight, do ya?!”

My eyes quickly shifted to Deras, who gave a slight nod before reaching behind his back with both hands. I had not noticed it before, but two daggers were attached to the back of his greaves. He unsheathed the daggers, and took a step towards the first bandit. The bandit responded by lunging towards Deras with his sword. Deras quickly stepped aside and dodged the bandit’s thrust. As the bandits momentum carried him passed Deras, the Dunmer held his dagger out and sliced the bandit’s neck. The bandit fell to the ground, gargling and clutching his neck. 

The rest of the bandits gasped, as Deras casually cleaned the dagger off on a piece of cloth hanging from his waist. 

“Come on! He can’t take all of us at once!” One of the other bandits shouted, and suddenly three of the other bandits charged at Deras. 

The first bandit came at Deras with a flail. As the bandit swung for Deras’s head, he ducked under the spikey ball at the end of the flail and stabbed one of his daggers through the bandit’s chin and up into his head. After tossing that bandit’s body away, another bandit’s spear was just a foot away from Deras’s chest. I covered my mouth as I thought Deras would surely get stabbed. Instead, Deras used his free hand to knock the side of the spear just enough off course that it missed his torso. After the bandit realized he missed Deras, he stopped charging at him and tried to back up. Deras did not let him, however, as the Dunmer grabbed the end of the spear and pulled the bandit toward him. Once the bandit was within arms length, Deras stabbed his other dagger through the bandit’s ear and into his skull. 

After watching his two partners fall, the third bandit began backing up quickly, before running away. I expected Deras to let him go, but he did not show any mercy. Deras quickly picked up the fallen bandit’s spear, and threw it like a javelin at the fleeing bandit; It pierced through his upper back, made him cry out in pain and fall to the ground. 

The only bandit who did not charge at Deras must have been a mage, as he suddenly conjured up a large fireball and hurled it at Deras. That is when Deras did something I truly had never seen before. Deras caught the fireball, held it for a few moments and sent it back at the mage twice as fast as it was originally thrown. The bandit was sent flying several feet back after the fireball made contact with him. 

Just as I thought we were safe, I suddenly felt someone grab me around my waist, press themselves against my back, and hold a cold, sharp blade against my neck. “Nobody moves or the girl dies!” the man that was holding me shouted.

Deras turned around quickly and looked at us, or at least I guess he was looking at us through his helmet. 

“Go ahead, do it,” Deras said suddenly.

Louis, I, and even the bandit let out a collective, “What!?” 

“Kill her. Slice her throat,” while Deras said this, he nonchalantly retrieved one of his daggers from one of the dead guards. At this point, I was still frozen with fear and did not know what to think. Deras no longer seemed to be paying any attention to us.

“Hilan! Do something!” Louis shouted. I could see that Hilan was just as shocked as the rest of us. However, before anyone else could utter a word, Deras suddenly threw his dagger toward the bandit and I. I felt the air from the dagger on my face as it flew by me, and into the bandit behind me. After he was hit, the bandit released his grip and fell limply to the ground. 

I shivered a little as I was free, but still a little traumatized at the near death experience. Louis quickly walked over to me and gave me a hug, but while he was hugging me, I could not take my eyes off Deras. 

“Thank you,” I said to Deras, which made Louis break away from the hug to look at me. Deras gave a light nod back. 

“I was so worried about you, darling,” Louis said to me as he placed his hand on my cheek to get me to look at him.

“It’s okay,” I responded rather absentmindedly. “I’m okay.”

“See? What did I say earlier? You don’t have a thing to worry about with us protecting you!” Hilan said with a laugh. 

“Didn’t you say he was a new recruit…?” I asked Hilan after Louis and I stopped hugging; Deras was retrieving his other dagger from a bandit corpse. 

“Sure is! And already one of the best damn bodyguards I’ve ever seen!” Hilan laughed. 

“Let’s not let that happen again…” Louis said with a sigh, and we were soon on our way through the ravine. 

Soon, we reached the surface of the cave and were officially in Morrowind. Interestingly enough, the land became increasingly more alien as we went on. We saw strange, floating animals that Hilan called netches, and giant mushrooms all over. I picked so many strange plants, mushrooms, and other things that I could use in my alchemy adventures sometime. 

While we were traveling, I found myself next to Deras; he was forced to pull the wagon full of our stuff through the rugged Morrowind terrain. 

“Hey, Deras,” I said to him.

“Hm?” he uttered as he lifted his head up from looking at the ground.

“I just wanted to say thanks again for saving me earlier…”

“It’s my job.”

“I wanted to ask you something too…” He turned to me as I spoke. “That man earlier. The one that was running from us. Why did you kill him?”

I could hear the Dunmer sigh from under his helmet. “I hope that didn’t make me look too much like a monster,” Deras said with a chuckle.

“N-No, not at all. I-” I quickly tried to reask the question before I was cut off. 

“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it,” Deras said with compassion in his raspy voice, before sounding serious again. “As much as I wanted to show him mercy, it wasn’t the right thing to do. That man… Probably made a livin’ off of robbin’ and killin’ innocent people. If I let him live and escape, who knows what innocent people’s lives might be harmed by him in the future. That’s why I decided to kill them.” 

“Oh…” I looked at the ground as I searched for something else to say. “And what about… When you told that bandit to kill me?”

“Oh. I hope I didn’t offend you.”

“N-No. I was just a little shocked.”

Deras rubbed the back of his neck. “I hope you know that I knew he wouldn’t do it. All of that talk was just a distraction, so I could get one of my daggers to throw at him.”

“Oh. Of course. I mean, I never thought you meant it, but…” I did not know what to say next.

“It’s okay. Maybe next time… I’ll find somethin’ better to say.”

As night approached, Hilan told us that we should probably set up camp for the night. So, we stopped and began setting up our tents. As we were finishing up our tents, I saw a small body of water not too far from us. 

“Can one of you guards come with me to that pond over there?” I asked the rest of the group. 

Very suddenly, Louis said, “Hilan, why don’t you go with her?” 

“Of course, sera,” Hilan answered.

“Um… No offense, Hilan, but I’d rather have Deras take me. I’d feel a little safer…”

I heard Louis mumble something under his breath and look away from us, but Hilan agreed. So, I let Deras lead the way to the pond. 

As the sun began to fall over the horizon, the temperature began to drop and the air felt a little less damp and swampy. When we reached the pond, I sat at the edge of the pond and dunked my hands into the cold, murky water. I looked to my left, and saw Deras sit cross legged near the water. He slowly pulled off his helmet and set it to the side. To my surprise, he was more attractive than I thought he would be. His face was not flawless— in fact it had quite a few scars —but it was cute in that rough and rugged sort of way. He had some stubble, and bright, piercing red eyes. His hair was short and messy, which makes sense as it had been stuffed in a helmet since Chorrol. I watched as he moved his hands into the water, and then splashed it in his face before letting out a tired sigh. 

I continued to watch him, until he glanced over which I quickly turned away from. I decided to start a conversation to keep things from being too awkward. “Do you know what Mournhold’s like…?” I asked.

“Sure. I was born there.” Deras said before sighing again. “Mournhold is not a great place. It’s a place full of poverty. Most everyone there works under House Dres, which pays scraps for Dunmer to delve into the ruins under the city and retrieve any Dwemer items they can.” Deras paused and looked up into the sky. “Honestly, it’s gotten worse since you two started pumpin’ your drug into the city.”

“What?” I quickly turned to look at him. 

“What did you think that drug was used for? The workers… They were finally fed up with House Dres. They were even gaining the support of the priests of House Indoril. They finally wanted change. And then, all of a sudden, this new potion is given freely to the workers and their families. Sure, it may help them relax after workin’ all day, but it doesn’t just help them relax. Your drug poisons them. After they drink it, they are unable to function. They become worthless, but by the time they need to get up for work, the potion has mostly worn off. Worst of all, it’s so damn addictive. It’s perfect for Dres to control the people. Now they don’t care if they’re sick, hungry, under dangerous workin’ conditions, even dyin’. They work all day just so they can get their dose of Rest-Easy,” Deras gave the whole rant in a seething voice. 

I felt awful. I could tell how much what we were doing was hurting him. “D-Deras…” I had to stop myself from tearing up. “I’m so sorry… I had no idea.” Deras slowly turned to look at me. “Louis just told me… That it helped people relax.”

“Really?” Deras sounded almost happy when he said that.

“Yeah…” I rubbed my neck. “I-I knew the ingredients were dangerous together, but Louis ensured me that it had a less harmful effect on Dunmer. I’m sorry.”

“Hmph,” Deras let out a cynical chuckle. “I bet Louis knows the truth.”

“Maybe… I can talk to him. Get him to stop?” 

“I doubt that House Dres would let that happen, but thank you for the concern,” Deras sighed, before mustering up a smile.

 

I smiled back at him and looked out at the water. “I’m going to try. It’s the least I could do to pay you back for saving my life…”

“It was my pleasure,” Deras suddenly sounded much more relaxed and happy when he spoke.

“Oh?” I giggled and felt myself blush. “Earlier… Y-You said it was your job.” 

“Did I?” Deras said with a laugh, as he offered his hand to help me up. “Well, I was happy to do it.”

I took his hand, and stood up. “I’m glad to hear that.”

A few hours later that night, I was laying wide awake in the dark on a bedroll on the ground next to Louis. “Louis,” I said sternly.

“Yes?” he answered with a yawn.

“Why didn’t you tell me the truth about Rest-Easy?”

“Darling, look—”

“Don’t you… Don’t you darling me,” I spoke in a quiet, but angry tone. “You know we’re hurting people. Maybe even killing them.”

“Ugh.” I could see Louis sit up in the darkness, though he spoke even quieter now. “They’re just Dark Elves. We’re getting rich.”

“Just Dunmer!?” I said a little louder than I should have. “Th-That doesn’t make them worth any less than us!”

“Look, I didn’t mean it like that.” I could hear Louis groan and imagine him rolling his eyes. “We just make the potions. It’s up to them what they do with it.”

“I can’t believe you…!” I let out a loud huff and pulled my blanket over my head. 

“Darling, please…” 

I felt Louis place his hand on my body, and I quickly jerked around and sat up. “D-Don’t touch me!”

“By the nine…” Louis growled under his breath. “Why don’t you just go run off to that Dark Elf boyfriend of yours?”

“At least he cares about people’s lives!” I took a deep breath before spouting, “I-I need some fresh air!” I suddenly threw my blanket off of me, and climbed out of my bedroll before storming out of our tent. 

When I left the tent, I was surprised to see Deras laying next a small fire in between the tents. He was stretched out on his back, using his arms to stare up at the starry, night sky. He lifted his head up slightly to look at me. 

“D-Did you hear all of that?” I said quietly as I joined him by the fire. 

“Sure did.”

I sighed as I sat down and hugged my knees. “What are you doing out here?”

“Guarding you, of course.” Deras slowly sat up, and offered me a piece of bread. “A late night snack always helps me feel better.”

“Thanks…” I took the bread and nibbled on it. “Have you been up all night?” Deras nodded. “Well, are you at least going to switch places with Hilan?”

“Probably not. I’m used to it… And I feel like we’re all a little safer if I’m the one keeping watch.” Deras said with a chuckle.

“But… Not getting any sleep is really unhealthy.”

“I know…” Deras let out a yawn. “But I don’t think I have much of a choice.”

“Why don’t you try to sleep?” I suggested. “I’ll stay up, and I’ll wake you up if anything happens.”

Deras chuckled. “Thanks for the offer, but, Morrowind at night isn’t exactly the easiest place to keep an eye on. But I know something you can do.”

“What’s that?” I smiled as I finished the bread. 

“You could stay up with me. Having someone to talk to makes the night go by much quicker,” Deras said with a smile.

“That sounds nice,” as I said that, I looked at my tent and wondered if Louis was listening to us. I hope he was. I hope he was getting upset that I’d rather spend the night talking to just a Dark Elf. 

So, we spent much of the night talking about lots of things. Most of it was Deras telling me all the places he had been, while I told him about my family and Chorrol. I didn’t get to hear much about Deras’s family and past. Unfortunately, I couldn’t last the whole night as I eventually dozed off and woke up in my bed roll in my tent. 

The next few days of travelling was rather quiet, as Louis and I hardly said a word to each other. We arrived at Mournhold around sunset, and it was not a pretty sight. Although we did not travel through them, the living quarters for Dunmer looked like they were in terrible condition. They were nothing more than hundreds of lazily put together wooden shacks crammed together and stacked on top of each other near the entrance of the Dwemer ruins they worked at. Thousands of sickly, weak looking Dunmer shuffled around the area, and I could hardly stand the sight. Instead of dealing with them, we were taken to a large palace that overlooked the ruins. 

At the palace, we were first joined by the other ten guards that Louis had paid for, and then we were greeted by a fairly young, very important looking, and impressively dressed Dunmer male. 

“Ah!” The Dunmer smiled as he approached us, and shook Louis’s hand. “You must be Mister Verillion. It is such a pleasure to finally meet you! I am Telnir Dres! Head of the House Dres!”

“It’s good to meet you too,” Louis did not sound all too happy when he shook Telnir’s hand. 

“Ah, and is this your wife?” Telnir gently took my hand and kissed it. 

“Not yet,” Louis said with a half hearted smile. 

“Of course.” Telnir grinned as he released my hand. “It is a pleasure to have you anyways, miss…?”

“Emeline,” I said at first, before quickly correcting myself, “Marie.”

“Good. Good.” Telnir smiled at Louis and I, before motioning us to enter the temple. “We were just sitting down for dinner. We’d love for you to join us.”

“We’d love to. Come on, Emeline.” Louis reached for my hand, but I would not let him have it. I do not know why I was still mad at Louis, but I was. It seemed we both became completely different people on this trip.

“And…” Telnir looked at our group of guards. “My servant here will lead you all to your rooms. Food and drink will be provided.”

I made eye contact with Deras— who was wearing his helmet —and smiled at him. I could feel him smile back, I think, and we went our separate ways.

Dinner was nice. We sat at a large table with Telnir, his wife, and children, and ate some exotic, but delicious food. 

As dinner wrapped up, Louis tried to bring up the negotiations. “Now, Mister Dres. I think it would be a good time to begin discussing our business.”

“Oh, call me Telnir,” the Dunmer said with a smile. “And there is no need to rush the negotiation! It’s getting late, and wouldn’t you much prefer discussing business when you’re well rested from your long trip?”

Louis sighed, and begrudgingly agreed. Louis and I were led to our room; it was massive and fit for royalty. The room itself was nearly as large as our house in Chorrol, and it was fitted with its own toilet and sauna. 

As I was fairly dirty and exhausted from the trip, I decided to go into the sauna and relax. Not long after I got in, Louis came in also. I said nothing to him.

“Darling, how long are you going to be mad at me?” he tried to ask in some cute voice. 

“You’re hurting people, Louis…” I uttered without looking at him. 

“Ugh,” Louis groaned. “What do you expect me to do? Just stop selling our potion?”

“Y-Yes! You’re killing people!” I huffed.

“Me? You helped make those potions too.” Louis crossed his arms. 

I quickly turned my head to face him as I nearly shouted, “Y-You tricked me into making drugs! You lied to me!” 

“Darling, come on… It’s not that serious.” Louis started to sound a little desperate. “We’re getting rich, aren’t we?”

“Not that serious? Killing people isn’t serious!? Oh, it’s because they’re Dunmer and you’re a…” I paused for a moment. “A-A racist jerk!” 

“Don’t ever call me racist!” Louis growled and grabbed my wrist tightly.

“Let go of me!” I tried pulling my arm away, but instead Louis pulled me closer.

I struggled, but now Louis had both of his arms wrapped around me. “Come on. You’re really going to let this tear our relationship apart?” he said in a calm tone, despite my fighting. 

“I said let go!” Louis finally released me, and I stood up quickly. “I don’t… I don’t even know if I want a relationship with you anymore!” I quickly walked out of the sauna. 

“What are you going to do without me!? Walk home on your own! Don’t think I won’t leave you!” I heard Louis shout as I got dressed outside of the sauna. 

I threw myself down on a sofa in the room and began crying into a pillow. I wanted to leave the room, and Louis, so much but I had nowhere to go. Honestly, I wanted Deras. 

I spent the night sleeping on the sofa, or at least trying to sleep. Halfway through the night, I stood up and decided to leave the room. Maybe Deras would be waiting for me, just like he would always be out by the fire. When I stepped out into the completely dark hallway, I started to regret my decision as I could not see a single thing in front of me. 

However, to my surprise, I heard Deras say quietly, “Emeline, is that you?”

“Y-Yes, it’s me…” I whispered back. I could feel his presence now; he was only a few feet away.

“Another fight with Louis?” he asked.

“Sort of, yeah…” I sighed. “What are you doing out here?”

“Keeping guard, of course.” 

“Well… I can’t really sleep.”

“I’ve got somethin’ that might be able to help,” as Deras spoke, he opened a door and light fed into the hallway. For the first time ever, I saw Deras wearing bedwear and not his armor; he looked fairly harmless without it.

Deras led me through his room. It was smaller than mine, but still grand in its own right. We went out of his room and onto a balcony. Our rooms were several stories high in the palace, so we got a pretty amazing view of the bright, night sky, and the richer part of Mournhold below. 

“This is a really beautiful view…” I said as I stood at the edge of the balcony, with my hands on the railing. 

“It is…” Deras said as he stood next to me. “But, I don’t think think it quite has the same charm as starin’ up at the stars next to a campfire in the middle of the wild…”

“I think you’re right.” I smiled up at the Dunmer, who smiled back at me. 

My smile turned to a frown soon after though. “Louis pretty much told me he won’t stop selling Rest-Easy…”

“It’s alright. I didn’t expect him to stop.”

“It just…” I let out an angry sigh. “It just makes me so mad. How can he be so inconsiderate?”

“I know how ya feel…” Deras let out his own sigh. “Telnir is supposed to be the leader of the Dunmer here in Mournhold, and yet he’s fine with pumpin’ them with drugs rather than properly taking care of them.” 

“I’m sorry… I can’t help but feel like some of this is my fault,” I said lowly as I looked down.

“Hey. No it’s not.” Deras put his hand on my shoulder, and smiled when I looked up at him. “You didn’t know what was going on. And you tried to stop it.” 

“Thanks, Deras…” I smiled back at him. There was a brief moment of silence, before I slowly leaned against Deras and closed my eyes. I felt Deras gently wrap his arms around me. “Deras…” I felt my face turn red as I uttered his name.

“Yes?”

“This whole trip would’ve been awful without you…” I spoke quietly. “I think that… Louis and I are breaking up. I don’t know how I’ll get home. Louis said he’ll leave me behind…” 

I felt Deras’s arms get a little tighter around me. “Don’t worry. I’ll take you home.”

I gently broke our embrace to look at his face. “Really? You mean it…? Y-You don’t need to… I-I just…” 

I was stumbling through my words before Deras gently placed his finger to my lips. “Don’t worry. You’ll get home safe.”

I could not help but smile wide; how could I have met such a sweet Dunmer? “Thank you so much.”

“Thank you for makin’ this some of the best few days of my life…” he said lowly.

“I could…” My face must have been as red as it has ever been, and even my breathing was getting heavy. “I could say the same to you.”

Without even realizing it, our faces were drifting closer each second. Until finally, our lips met and locked. I knew that I might have technically been cheating on Louis at that moment, but not a single thought besides Deras went through my mind. 

We did not stop kissing for a while, and even after we stopped, Deras led me to his bed. He took my virginity that night, and I did not have a single regret. I was so happy laying there once we were done, held tight in his arms. 

I woke up alone, but still in Deras’s bed the next morning. Unfortunately, I did not wake up to the most pleasant of sounds. 

“What do you mean she’s in your bed!?” I heard Louis yell.

“She told me she was having trouble sleeping. That the sofa wasn’t comfortable enough!” Deras responded with some unusual intensity. I wondered how he knew I was sleeping on a sofa...

“If you laid your dirty hands on her, I’ll…” As Louis continued shouting, I quickly realized that I was still in bed totally naked. I quickly rolled out of bed, and quickly threw my clothes on. Just in time, too, because Louis suddenly barged in. “Emeline!”

“What?” I said quickly, trying to stop myself from breathing heavily.

He looked me up and down, silently; his face was beet red. I must have looked a mess. My clothes were not on correctly, and my hair was all over the place. Louis slowly approached me as he quietly said, “You slept with him, didn’t you?” 

I backed up a little, until I hit a wall. “No, Louis…”

Louis continued moving close to me, until he was in my face. My breathing grew heavy and I shook nervously, probably looking like the most guilty woman alive. Then, all of a sudden, Louis raised his hand and stuck my face with the back of his hand. 

I let out a gasp, and suddenly began to cry. I did not cry because of the pain, but the simple act of being hit sent me into some kind of shock. Maybe I deserved to be hit, maybe not, but I was distraught. I sunk against the wall and cried into my hands. 

“You… Harlot!” Louis shouted as he stood above me.

I heard the door open across the room, so I peered through my fingers and saw Deras walking into the room.

Louis heard him too, as he quickly turned around and shouted, “You get out of here! You’re fired! How dare you touch my woman!?”

“Don’t hit her again,” Deras exclaimed with an angry frown. 

“Don’t tell me what to do! She’s mine!” Louis got even louder.

“Oh, is she?” Deras said sarcastically. 

“You damn Dark Elf!” Louis yelled as he tried to shove Deras. 

Deras hardly moved, and instead backhanded Louis with incredible force; the hit was so hard that it sent Louis to the floor. I gasped as I watched Louis fall, and then noticed Deras holding his hand out to help me up. I wiped my tears away and took Deras’s hand. He pulled me up, and we left the room. None of us said a word, but Louis and I made eye contact just as I exited the room. At that moment, I realized that I had no shred of love for Louis anymore.

Once we were out in the hall, I led Deras into my room. “Are you hurt?” Deras asked.

“N-No. I’m okay.” I wiped away any more tears. “Thank you…”

Deras hugged me, before saying, “We should leave now.”

“Are you just going to leave Hilan and the others…?” I asked as I began to gather my belongings.

Deras sighed. “Yes, but hurry because—” Deras paused suddenly when some speaking could be heard in the hallway. “Stand back, okay?”

Although I was confused, I obeyed and stepped back against the wall. Not a moment later, Hilan and five of our Dunmer bodyguards all stepped into the room. 

“Deras,” Hilan said with his hands on his hips and a sneering grin. “Are you done having fun with the girl yet?” Deras turned to Hilan and silently nodded. “Good. Good. Telnir is not a very patient mer.”

“W-What’s going on…?” I uttered without really thinking. 

Hilan looked passed Deras and smiled at me. “Oh, you poor girl. We’re not really your bodyguards. Telnir hired us to act as your guards, and bring you here, where I assume he’ll keep you hostage and force you to make your drugs for free, or perhaps just teach others how to make it and then kill you or something.”

I gasped at Hilan’s explanation, but I had no doubt in my mind that Deras would help me out of this. 

“Come, Deras, let the others handle this,” Hilan said to him with a grin. “You deserve a round on me for doing such a great job on your first assignment.”

My heart started to break as Deras approached Hilan, very slowly. Each step felt like he was ripping my heart out, until Deras suddenly sprang into action. As Deras reached Hilan, he also moved next to a table. On the table was a large glass cup. Deras very subtly grabbed the glass, and then quickly bashed the side of Hilan’s head with it. The impact shattered the glass and seemed to knock Hilan unconscious— or kill him.

Then, the fight was on. One Dunmer stabbed at Deras with a dagger, but he managed to catch the Dunmer’s wrist with one hand and disarm him with the other hand. As the next Dunmer charged at Deras with his sword, Deras quickly spun around the Dunmer he had disarmed and used him as a shield. The blade pierced through the first Dunmer, and barely avoided hitting Deras’s chest. Deras then shoved the stabbed Dunmer on top of the one who just attacked. Another Dunmer quickly approached and tried to swing a warhammer down onto Deras. Fortunately, Deras reached for his dagger and ducked down. Deras used the Dunmer’s momentum to flip the Dunmer up and over himself— while quickly stabbing him in the stomach —and dropping him on the ground in front of me.

Before Deras could stand up again, another Dunmer swung at Deras with a mace. Using an impressively athletic move, Deras was able to sweep both of the Dunmer’s feet with his leg. As the Dunmer hit the ground, Deras quickly stabbed a dagger through his face. Before Deras could recover and stand, he let out a sudden cry of pain; the final Dunmer struck him in the chest with a throwing star. Although he was momentarily stopped, Deras fought through the pain and charged at the Dunmer. He tackled the attacker out of the room, and proceeded to finish the Dunmer off with his daggers. 

While I slowly moved away from the wall, and began to approach Deras who was climbing off of the Dunmer, something grabbed my ankle and pulled me down to the floor. This Dunmer that grabbed me had gotten his sword out of the other Dunmer, and was ready to stab or slice at me. Thankfully, I thought quick enough to use the only destruction spell I knew, and shot flames at the Dunmer. This stopped him long enough for Deras to run over and kill him with a quick slice of the throat. 

“Are you okay?” Deras asked as he pulled me up.

“I am. Are you?” I looked at the wound in his chest. 

He nodded. “I will be. I’ll take care of it once we’re out of here.”

As we left the room and started to move down the hallway, I could see that a struggle was going on in Deras’s room. There were three Dunmer trying to tie up Louis. Deras and I stopped at the door, and he asked me, “Do you want me to save him?”

I nodded. “He doesn’t deserve to die…”

Deras ran into the room, and made quick work of the Dunmer. Deras then— very hesitantly —held his hand out to Louis. To my surprise, Louis did not accept the offer and stood up. “Thanks, but I’ll be alright,” Louis said defiantly. 

“Have it your way,” Deras said quickly, before grabbing his helmet, putting it on, then leaving the room and grabbing my hand. 

We made our way through the hallway, and for some reason, we went upstairs instead of downstairs. “Where are we going?” I asked as we quickly made our way up the stairs. 

“I have something to take care of. Then we’ll leave,” he answered rather calmly given the situation. 

After running for a few minutes, we approached a room with two guards stationed at the door. “Stop right there,” one of the guards exclaimed. “Master Dres is busy. What business do you have?” 

“I must see him. It is urgent!” Deras exclaimed.

“Aren’t you one of those mercenaries?” one of the guards asked.

“Yes! Just tell him I’m here, and he’ll want to see me,” Deras pleaded now. 

“Fine. Fine.”

As one guard turned to open the door, Deras suddenly attacked the other guard. Deras leapt forward and plunged his dagger through the guard’s neck. A moment later, however, Deras was sent to the ground after being struck in the stomach by the other guard’s mace.

I gasped, as this was the first time I had ever seen Deras look to be in any real danger. Deras quickly got back to his feet, yet he was now clutching his stomach. 

“You should’ve never came back to Mournhold, Silvayth!” the guard suddenly exclaimed as he stood with his mace and shield ready.

“Thoren…” Deras— or Silvayth, as I am sure you already guessed —uttered as he regained his breath. 

“You know what, I’m glad you’re here!” Thoren laughed as he took off his helmet and threw it to the floor, revealing another young, male Dunmer face. “I’ve wanted to kill you for years!” 

“Thoren! Your brother was a murderer! Stop denying it! I had no choice but to kill him!” Silvayth exclaimed as he let go of his stomach.

“That’s why he’s dead and you’re alive!? If anyone is a murderer, it’s you!” Thoren yelled back at him, and began approaching Silvayth with his mace held high.

“Telnir lied to you! I wouldn’t kill your brother for no reason!” Silvayth got into a fighting stance, holding both daggers. 

“Azura wouldn’t have brought you here to me if you were innocent. You’re here because it’s time to finally carry out justice!” as Thoren finished speaking, he lunged toward Silvayth. 

Silvayth used both of his daggers to block Thoren’s mace, leaving Thoren free to bash Silvayth’s face with his shield. The hit to his helmet staggered Silvayth and caused him to stumble backwards. Thoren did not let up, as he quickly stepped forward and swung his mace at Silvayth’s head. Silvayth was sent to the floor after the mace hit his helmet, which caused a loud cracking sound that made my stomach drop. 

As Silvayth laid on the ground on his stomach, he quickly pulled off his helmet before he began coughing up blood on the floor. Thoren walked over Silvayth, and went for the final blow. Thoren began to swing at Silvayth’s exposed head, but Silvayth was able to reach up and stab Thoren’s hip with a dagger.

Thoren let out a sudden gasp of pain and backed away from Silvayth. Thoren growled as he quickly pulled the dagger from his hip, and threw it away. Silvayth slowly stood up, and wiped the blood from his mouth. Thoren— now with a noticeable limp —moved forward to attack Silvayth again. As Thoren swung at Silvayth’s chest, Silvayth was able to duck under the mace and slice at Thoren’s side in the same motion. Thoren was seemingly unphased by the attack, and tried to hit Silvayth again while spinning around. This time, Silvayth caught the mace mid-swing, and then sliced Thoren’s wrist. Although he did not sever Thoren’s hand, the cut was deep enough to cause Thoren to drop his mace. However, before Silvayth could make another move, Thoren dropped his shield and hit Silvayth with an extremely forceful uppercut. 

The punch sent Silvayth down to one knee in front of Thoren, who swiftly, and forcefully, brought his leg up to kick the side of Silvayth’s head. Silvayth was sent crashing to the ground once again after the hard kick. As Silvayth once again was laid out on the ground, Thoren quickly grabbed his mace from the floor and tried to bring it down on Silvayth’s head once more. Fortunately, Silvayth rolled out of the way and narrowly missed getting hit; in that same motion, Silvayth was able to climb to his knees and stab his dagger right into Thoren’s chest. Thoren let out a cry of pain, but it was clear that he still was not done fighting. Thoren and Silvayth both slowly got to their feet, both clearly in a lot of pain— though it was obvious that Thoren was in more as he swayed and let out pained breaths. 

“N-No!” Thoren growled through his teeth as he sloppily, and sluggishly swung at Silvayth. Silvayth again dodged under the swing, and then grabbed Thoren by his hair. He yanked Thoren’s head down just as he brought his knee up to make a sickening collision with Thoren’s face. Thoren’s body basically crumbled to the ground after that attack, and he laid alive, but motionless. 

Silvayth was breathing heavily as he stood over his downed opponent. He looked around for a moment, and then held his hand out at something. I looked over, and saw that he was reaching out for one of his daggers. I quickly ran over, grabbed the dagger, and brought it to Silvayth.

“Thank… you…” Silvayth said in between breaths as he took the dagger, and dropped to his knees. Silvayth stared down at Thoren for a moment. Thoren’s eyes were halfway open, as his torso was now covered in blood. “I’m sorry, Thoren… Telnir will pay for all of this…” After uttering those words, Silvayth stabbed his dagger deep into Thoren’s neck and severed his head— hopefully ending his suffering. 

Silvayth stood after retrieving both of his daggers, but his legs were wobbling and he could hardly stand up straight. “Deras…” I said as I grabbed him to help him stand. “L-Let me heal you.”

Silvayth shook his head. “We don’t have enough time… I need to finish this, and then we need to escape.” 

“Please… Don’t push yourself too hard.” I slowly let him go, and he approached the door the guards were standing at originally. Silvayth opened the door, which led to another short hallway before a pair of large doors. I followed Silvayth into the hallway, and stopped as he opened the final doors. Telnir was sitting at a desk, with his son, a Dunmer child, also in the room. 

Telnir stood up slowly from his desk, looking shocked as a bloodied Dunmer entered his room. “Wh-Who are you?!” Telnir asked with wide eyes.

“You don’t remember me, Master Dres…?” Silvayth said with almost no emotion in his voice. 

“I have no…” Telnir paused to swallow. “Look, you must have the wrong mer!”

“Your thugs killed my family! Raped my sister and my mother!” Silvayth shouted suddenly. “You sentenced me to death for carrying out justice!” Telnir stayed quiet, though he was now visibly shaking. “Or… Have you done that to so many of us that you’ve forgotten our faces?!”

“I-I know you!” Telnir exclaimed suddenly. “You’re that guard! Listen! Listen!” Telnir began to plead. “I-It couldn’t have happened to a better family! I’m sorry! I-I can make it up to you! I’ll give you all the gold you could ever want!”

Silvayth began to slowly walk towards Telnir. “Gold won’t bring my family back! Gold won’t bring the thousands that lay dead at your hands!”

Telnir almost let out a shriek, as he suddenly ran over to his son who was also shaking with fear. Telnir held his young son in front of him and cried, “Y-You wouldn’t dare kill a man while his son is w-watching!” 

“F-Father!” the young Dunmer cried as he tried to escape Telnir’s grip, but Telnir kept his son in between Silvayth and himself. 

“I don’t have a choice,” Silvayth said as he pulled out a piece of paper from under his armor. “I have a writ for your execution.”

“W-What!?” Telnir gasped. “I have no enemies! Who would dare!?” 

Silvayth threw the writ onto the ground, and stepped forward.

“No! Please!” Telnir tossed his son at Silvayth, and tried to make a run for the door. Silvayth— as gently as he could —pushed the child away and caught Telnir, killing him with a quick slice of the throat. After Telnir fell to the ground, Silvayth headed for the door.

Silvayth stopped briefly, and glanced back at Telnir’s son who was visibly shaken by the whole ordeal. “I hope you learn from your father’s mistakes. If you treat your people wrong, you’ll pay for it.” As Silvayth left the room, he shut the door and broke the handle, so hopefully the child would not be able alert anyone right away. 

Silvayth and I left the room immediately afterwards and headed back downstairs. “How are we going to get out?” I asked as we walked passed the bodies from earlier; as we passed by Silvayth’s room, I noticed Louis was gone. 

Silvayth put on his helmet before answering, “Hopefully through the front door. As long as Louis hasn’t ratted us out.”

“I hope he appreciates you saving him…” I said as we continued downstairs. While down the stairs, I watched as Silvayth tried to wipe all the blood off of his armor. 

When we reached the highly populated ground floor, we tried to nonchalantly walk out of the palace. However, we were stopped by a couple of bodyguards who approached us. “Hey, recruit! Where’s the boss?”

“Hilan’s upstairs with the others, speaking to Master Dres,” Silvayth answered quickly.

“Oh, okay.” It seemed as though the bodyguards were going to let us pass, before the other asked skeptically, “Where you going with the girl?”

“She just…” Silvayth seemed at a loss for words.

“He’s just showing me around Mournhold,” I spoke up quickly and as innocently as I could. 

The two Dunmer gave us funny looks, but eventually brushed us off. Silvayth and I quickly left the palace, and then Mournhold as quickly as we could. 

“Are they going to come after us?” I asked Silvayth as we walked through the wilderness. 

“Hard to say…” Silvayth answered. “It was technically a legal assassination, but the Morag Tong doesn’t have as much respect as it used to. I suppose.”

“Morag Tong…?” 

“It’s a lot to explain…” Silvayth said with a sigh. 

“Well,” I stopped walking. “How about you tell me while I take care of your wounds?” 

“I guess we’re far enough from Mournhold now…” Silvayth stopped walking also. 

“Let’s find a nice tree for you to rest against,” I said, before we ventured off into the forest to find a comfortable tree for Silvayth to sit against. Silvayth pulled off his armor, and I began healing all of the areas where he had cuts, bruises, or any other wounds. 

“I’m guessing you’re probably confused about what’s all been going on, so I’ll start from the beginning. It’s quite a long story, so I’ll spare some details for now...” Silvayth took a deep breath before beginning his story. “I was born in Mournhold 82 years ago. I was the first born, and then my mother had a daughter 22 years later, and a son 12 years after that. Mournhold was just as bad back then as it was now, except that not everyone worked in the Dwemer ruins. Back then, many worked on building the palace for House Indoril and House Dres. However, Telnir Dres still had control over Mournhold at the time. He did not use drugs at that time to keep the impoverished Dunmer under control, instead he used fear and the promise of protection. Of course, I did not know this at the time, but Telnir hired bandits and thugs to terrorize the Dunmer of Mournhold, especially in the poor areas and when people tried to flee the city. Then, every so often, Telnir would stage the thugs’ arrests to look like a hero to the Dunmer. I remember that I used to revere Telnir and his guards. Ironically, they are part of the reason why I am such a skilled fighter today. I wanted to be just like them, so I trained to fight every day when I was young. When I was about 40, I finally was allowed to join the Mournhold guard. However… I was disappointed by how little work the guards actually did. They spent most of their time guarding the walls and the palace, and not guarding the poor areas where crime was frequent. A few years into my time as a guard, disturbing complaints began arising from the poor neighborhoods that households were being attacked in the dead of night; males were killed and females were found raped. My family lived in one of the areas where attacks were frequent, so I remember pleading to Telnir to post more guards in my neighborhood than just one guard each night. Telnir denied the request, and I decided that I needed to move my family out of the area. 

“So I saved up for months, and finally was able to buy a house for my family in a less poor area of Mournhold. I headed home, unknowingly to the worst night of my life. As I approached the door to our small shack, which was surrounded by dozens of other similar, tiny shacks. I could hear my eight year old brother, Dralos, crying inside. I quickly rushed inside, and saw an awful sight… My father, mother, and sister were all dead. They were laying in bloody puddles on the floor. My brother instantly ran into my arms, sobbing. My sister and mother both had their clothes torn off, and I saw them covered in… Oh, Azura…”

Silvayth was in tears now, and I hugged him to comfort him. 

“Dralos told me that they raped my mother and sister, and slaughtered my father when he tried to stop them. He told me that there must have been a dozen of them, and that he only survived because he managed to hide under one of our loose floorboards… I was so angry. These thugs needed to be stopped, and I knew Telnir and the guards would do nothing to stop them. So, I abandoned the guards, and decided to do my own patrolling of the poor neighborhoods at night. I gave Dralos to one of my close friends, Thoren, as I had no time to take care of him while hunting down the murderers. After a week of staying up every night to patrol the streets, I finally caught the murderers in the act. I heard a scream from one of the shacks, and I quickly sprang into action. I caught the Dunmer thugs, about 10 of them as they were in the act of attemptin’ to rape and kill another family. I slaughtered them all, managing to save the family. Although I got my revenge, it struck me that I recognized one of the thugs; he was Thoren’s older brother. 

“As I left the scene, I was caught by a group of guards. They arrested me, as well as the family that I had just saved. Through the darkness, they dragged us over to the palace’s dungeon. The jailor told me that I was being charged with the murder of 10 guards, and that the family were all being charged as accomplices; we were all to be executed. That’s when I realized what was happenin’. Those thugs were hired by Telnir to terrorize the people, and that night the guards were finally going to be the heroes and stage their arrest. It was Telnir who was responsible for killin’ my family…

“I waited an entire week for my execution. Waitin’ for your death is one of the worst experiences you could have in life. On the day of my execution, a single Dunmer approached my cell. I was confused, as he was not dressed as a guard or anything. Still, I was convinced he was leading me to my death. That was until he told me that he was the Grandmaster of the new Morag Tong. The Morag Tong is basically a group of assassins who can carry out legal assassinations if hired by the right people. He told me that he was trying to rebuild the Morag Tong, and he heard the stories of how I took down 10 mer all on my own. He told me that he could stop my execution if I agreed to join the Morag Tong, so I did on one condition; if he also freed the family I saved. Thankfully, he was able to pull some strings and free the family as well. 

“So, I spent the next 40 years as a member of the rebuildin’ Morag Tong. I perfected my skills with my blades, and made a livin’ assassinatin’ mostly noble Dunmer who had wronged others. While I always wanted to carry out my revenge against Telnir, I held back even when I traveled to Mournhold to see Dralos ever so often. That was until this year, at least… About a month ago, I visited Dralos and his family in Mournhold. Unfortunately, he was grieving the death of his wife. He told me that his wife had died after overdosing on a new drug that House Dres began distributin’ to Dunmer workers, and that’s when I knew somethin’ needed to be done. I did some investigatin’ to try to find out where the drugs were coming from, and that’s when I learned that Hilan and his group of mercenaries were going to fetch the drug producers from Cyrodiil. I quickly applied, and I amazed them enough with my skills that they hired me immediately. I used Deras as my cover name, but of course, my real name is Silvayth.

“To be honest… At first, I went to Cyrodiil to kill whoever was makin’ the drug, but after I met you two, I realized that you weren’t the ones that needed to die. Telnir needed to pay. He was the one poisonin’ his own people, as he had done in the past in a different way… And well, you know the rest of the story from there.”

“Wow…” I uttered as he finished his story, and I finished healing him. “So...After you get me back to Chorrol, will you be returning to the Morag Tong…?” I asked as we continued walking.

“Well, after pulling off an assassination of someone as big as the head of a Great House, a Morag Tong member is supposed to retire and be shipped off to some island to live out the rest of our days,” Silvayth answered. “But, as close as I am with the Grandmaster, he might make an exception and let me retire wherever I want.”

I smiled up at him, and slowly took his hand as we walked. “Y-You’re… welcome to stay with me in Chorrol, if you’d like…” 

Silvayth squeezed my hand with his. “I’d like that…” 

We continued moving for the next couple days, until we approached the same cave that we entered Morrowind from. We decided not to risk it at the border checkpoint, and we took the ravine instead. 

Silvayth and I got back to Chorrol, and Louis was nowhere to be found. However, I did not feel right taking his house, so we took some of the thousands of septims Louis and I had made and bought our current home. Our home where we’ve lived happily ever after since…


End file.
